Mount TBR 2020 discussion
Mount Olympus (150+ books)
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Brian Blessed Buys A Jetpack!
#91 - Art Ops: How to Start a Riot by Shaun Simon and Mike AllredThere’s a secret world where art is alive and wants to take a road trip, and there are bad people (and things) who want to do unspecified things to these beings. When the Mona Lisa is sent into protective custody, all tell breaks loose, the Art Ops are vanished, and the survival of art (and people) is down to slacker Reggie, son of the head of the Art Operatives, superhero The Body, timeless 80s girl Izzy, and new recruit Juliet. It tends not to go well.
I was hoping for a lot more fun from this story, given that it’s in Allred’s wheelhouse, but it turns out to be more of a Grant Morrison Doom Patrol riff than anything else.
#92 - Art Ops, Vol. 2: Popism by Shaun Simon, Mike Allred, et alFirst the story heads into the past, and then into the present, where it runs out of steam and concludes. I’m not sure if the writer just ran out of silly things to go with runaway art, or if a cancelation came down, but it sort of shrugs and gives up...but not before the Mona Lisa winds up pregnant.
#92 - Green Lantern: Sleepers by Christopher J. PriestGood lord, this was endless, loud, and pointless.
#93 - Folsom Untold: The Strange True Story of Johnny Cash's Greatest Album by Danny RobbinsSupposedly a look back at the creation of one of Johnny Cash’s biggest albums, but more a look at the relationship between Cash and ex-convict Glen Sherley, who Cash tried to rescue but ended up abandoning.
#94 - Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael PollanBasic thesis: coffee and tea put western people into overdrive and we built an industrial civilization as a result. Big maybe, but he doesn’t delve too deeply into the history (the Dutch East India Company gets galloped by) or into the contemporary sociology, though he does reference the effects of climate change.
It’s a nice light listen, though.
#95 - The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way and Gabriel BaThe first arc in Way’s offbeat superhero series finds the surviving adopted children of an eccentric millionaire coming together at his death, only to fall into bickering. Weirdness abounds, apocalypse approaches, and Seven, Vanya, discovers that she does have a talent like the others — only hers is apocalyptic.
It didn’t really grab me as much as I expected it would. Way is very much in the surreality-and-violence mood of Grant Morrison, but not as capable.
#96 - The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel BaThe second storyline in the Way/Ba series abandons cohesiveness (such as it was) and free wheels through a story that sends the family (minus the incapacitated White Violin) plunging into the past to either save or kill John F. Kennedy.
Still doesn’t really click with me, despite the accolades.
#97 - The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 3: Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Way and Gabriel BaCentered on the titular hotel, a place created to house prisoners on a desolate alien world. The Hotel was created by Sir Reginald Hargreeves as a place to put the criminals brought down by the Umbrella Academy, but by now a building full of aging, angry, near-psychotics (and one god-level super-being, The Scientific Man.)
The various surviving members of the Academy, meanwhile, have their own issues ruling their lives. Seance is near-terminal and in the hands of bikers who are exploiting him. Rumour is still trying to reconnect with her estranged daughter. Five is working as an industrial spy. Space boy and Kraken seem the most balanced, working on a special project with Japanese scientist Dr. Zoo. The White Violin, meanwhile, is dragged out of her recuperation by Mom and taken on a voyage of discovery that’ll finally address one question the series hasn’t addressed: there were 43 children. What happened to the 36 that Hargreeves didn’t adopt?
This time around the story is *really* long on plot, tying up a thread from The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas and ending with a handful of others dangling. Lots of action, lots of violence, plenty of rougher, more cartoony art from Ba.
#98 - Armor Hunters by Robert Venditti, et alThe X-O Man-O-War armor is the target in this event series, and Earth as a whole is in the crosshairs of a team of alien hunters who are chasing across the galaxy to erase the scourge of the techno virus built into the armors. They soon find that Earth is scrappy.
It’s fairly generic stuff, but I enjoyed it enough, though I don’t feel a need to read more of the X-O Man-O-War stuff.
#99 - Scarlet Witch, Vol. 3: The Final Hex by James Robinson & variousJames Robinson concludes his overhaul if Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff by bringing her to the end of her journey to revive witchcraft. In the process he looks at bigotry and religious fear and the power of bloodlines, and bonds her with the spirit of her long-dead mother. Overall, quite a story.
#100 - Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol by Stuart Jennett High concept war action with dinosaurs, basically, as Jennett mixes up Sergeant Fury (and Rock), tine travel to the Cretaceous, and high stakes action. Ends with a cliffhanger involving a dieselpunk Nazi cyborg. Ludicrous fun, though definitely rather bloody.
#101 - Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers, Vol. 16 by Steven Englehart, Gerry Conway, Jim Shooter, George Perez, Sal Buscema, etcFrom the messy era of Marvel Comics. Steve Englehart moved on, Gerry Conway moved in and, by his own admission, flopped rather thoroughly. Jim Shooter proceeded to take over, lifting the title somewhat, while George Perez’s art provided a bit of a boost (though Perez would come yo be more significant later.) Overall a clunky, chaotic read.
Congrats on reaching (and surpassing) the peak of Mt. Everest!
Leslie wrote: "Congrats on reaching (and surpassing) the peak of Mt. Everest!"Thank you!
#102 - The X-Files: Cold Cases by Joe Harris, Dirk MaggsAn expansion of the Joe Harris comics into an audiobook with multiple narrators. Unfortunately it’s not as good as it should be, with some lackluster writing that tumbles from the mouths of performers like rocks. The stories themselves retread well worn narrative paths.
#103 - Avengers Epic Collection Vol. 9: The Final Threat by Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Jim Shooter, Jim Starling, John Buscema, George Perez, John Byrne, etcAnd epic it is, too, in the finish as Jim Starlin presents a story of Thanos trying to destroy the galaxy a solar system at a time to appease Death, the love of his life. Many sacrifices are made. Before then, though, it’s a somewhat slapdash ride until Shooter and Byrne get matters leveled out and provide three issues of Count Nefaria smashing up New York (this coming after Graviton did his thing.)
#104 - Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers, Volume 17 by Jim Shooter, George Perez, Jim Starlin, othersShooter’s time on the Avengers barrels onward, coming to a stop with the cosmic and confusing Korvac Saga, which ends up with the Avengers seemingly losing and Moondragon pontificating that Korvac was right...except that even she is revealed as thinking shallowly. Mostly it seems more as though Shooter couldn’t figure out a proper ending.
Nice restoration work, though, and some excellent George Perez work scattered throughout.
#105 - Elseworlds: Superman Vol. 2 by Howard Chaykin, Mark Farmer, Alan Davis, J.M deMatteis, Kim Howard Johnson, John Cleese, John Byrne, etcI loved the Elseworlds books, honestly, as I love alternate world stories. However, as this collection demonstrates, they could be extremely variable. There’s Howard Chaykin’s “Son Of Superman,” where Superman vanished years ago and Lois raised their son alone, into a world turned fascistic. J.M. DeMatteis provides a meditation on spirit via an angelic version of Supergirl. Mark Farmer and Alan Davis present a rollicking version of the Legion of Superheroes where Superboy was only found in the 30th Century and formed the Legion himself.
Finally, there’s the rather questionable “True Brit,” cooked up by John Cleese but written by Kim Howard Johnson. The story depends entirely on broad comedic pokes at British tradition and behaviour, much of them mild reruns of Monty Python gags and almost all out of date by years when this thing was written.
It’s not a hard read, mostly, and there’s plenty of goodness for the eyes. But it really is borscht.
Quirkyreader wrote: "Hurrah on reaching Mount Everest and then some.🐸"Thank you!
#106 - Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 10 by Stan Lee and John Romita Onward with the travails of Peter Parker’s life as he battles his retinue of villains, faces down the reawakened Green Goblin even as his friend Harry Osborne goes through a Very Special Episode (the infamous Comics Code-free drug issues), and deals with love and heartache with girlfriend Gwen Stacy (who blames Spider-Man for the death of her Dad.)
Stan Lee’s writing was actually improving by this point, but it was also a countdown to him leaving all of his scripting behind as other Marvel duties soaked up his time.
#107 - Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert BlochA 12 year old country boy discovers things in the woods and has them follow him home. Bloch expands on a corner of the Cthulhu Mythos fairly effectively. The story ends conclusively inconclusive as the teller of the tale is still writing...
#108 - The Temple by H.P. LovecraftOne of the more interesting Lovecraft outings, effectively read by Ian Gordon. A manuscript found in a bottle on the Yucatán shore bears the last testament of the commander of World War One submarine U29. In it he details their last full mission, and the descent to madness suffered by his crew following that, and the eventual descent of the crippled sub to an ancient, sunken city where something may still live....
#109 - A Voice in the Night by William Hope HodgsonA story about a becalmed ship importuned by a nervous stranger in a rowboat to provide him food and water without putting the light on him turns from mystery to romantic tragedy when the stranger returns to tell his story. I rather liked this — elegantly told, with no monsters but an accident of nature.
#110 - The Ocean Ogre by Dana Carroll#111 - The Uncharted Isle by Clark Ashton Smith
Carroll’s melodramatic tale of an ocean-going vampire seems to be moderately obscure, but gets a solid reading from narrator Ian Gordon.
Smith’s tale of a castaway Mariner who winds up on a mysterious island is a bit of fluff, but entertaining all the same. Did the narrator cross dimensions? Who knows?
#112 - Poison by Ed McBainA wealthy man is found dead, killed by a dose of refined nicotine. The 87th catches the case but is soon baffled, though their investigation dies lead to the beautiful Marilyn. When a second victim turns up, murdered in the same was and also connected with Marilyn, the focus falls on her...and Detective Hal Willis falls *for* her. Gradually the truth opens up like layers of an onion...putting Willis through the wringer as Marilyn’s past is revealed.
I’d rate this higher but fir two things: it turns into Caged Heat partway, and, frankly, I’ve known those who’ve been through horrific sexual abuse, and they were not people who recovered as completely as Marilyn does. Not to mention that Willis himself breaks numerous regulations along the way....
#113 - Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 5 by Archie Goodwin, Johnny Craig, George TuskaArchie Goodwin picks up the scriptwriting duties for Shellhead and turns out serviceable stories that revisit older characters and throw in some newer ones as well. By now Iron Man had his own solo book and was doing well as a B-list Marvel character.
#114 - Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 6 by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Johnny CraigIron Man Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Man Who Killed Tony Stark by Goodwin, Craig, Tuska
I’m including both books because the Epic Collection covers most of the same ground as Masterworks 5 & 6, with just a few additional extras.
This volume actually shows considerable improvement in the storytelling, with Tony facing emotional crises, his heart failing (and being fixed), and battles that have unexpected outcomes. There’s also some dramatic artwork, and even an issue that moves the opening splash to the cover, giving it one hell of a running start.
Archie Goodwin is gone by the next volume, unfortunately. Tony Stark seems likely to remain interesting, though.
#115 - The Mating Season by P. G. WodehouseComedy all around as Bertie finds himself in the thick of things with sundered romances, falsified identities, terrifying gaggles of aunts. Jeeves, in this instance, has less to do than usual, with Berties left yo dash about raising chaos.
#116 - The Boys Vol. 2: Digital Omnibus by Garth Ennis and Darrick RobertsonButcher ramps up his war against the Vought-American superheroes, and things go very much off the rails thanks to Hughie’s growing relationship with Annie January — who’s the superhero Starlight. Hughie is thrown into more and more terrible situations, and V-A’s cast of heroes is drastically reduced even as Homelander’s cheese slides off his cracker.
#117 - Superboy Annual 1953-54 by variousblack and white reprint collection drawing stories from about 1948 to 1952, with a rather random Green Arrow reprint at the end.
Definitely a nostalgia trip for me, as I grew up with these kinds of British kids annuals. I’m amused to see that this one at least has some editing to change the currency references and references to jail (misspelled to boot — goal rather than gaol.)
I’m tempted to try to find more of these Annuals...though I suspect I’ll belay that due to prices (not to mention shipping costs.)
#118 - The Boys Vol. 3 Digital Omnibus by Garth Ennis and various The third act and conclusion as secrets are revealed, the Homelander activates his plan, Black Noir is revealed, and Butcher’s true plan comes to light. Problematic in a number of ways, but past the issues it’s solid storytelling with some good character moments.
#119 - My Man Jeeves by P.G. WodehousePublished in 1919, a collection of eight frothy, amusing tales, split between Jeeves and Wooster (in New York), and the exploits of Reggie Pepper. Enjoyable stuff.
#120 - Marvel Knights Fantastic Four: 1234 by Morrison & Lee by Grant Morrison and Jae LeeVictor Von Doom takes a shot at the FF, picking the members off and changing reality. As it turns out Reed Richards had seen this coming, and started working against Doom.
There’s some interesting touches throughout — Sue spends much of her time invisible, Johnny can’t deal with rain, and it’s easy to wreck Ben Grimm.
It’s fairly thin, but great to look at.
The volume closes out with a Nick Fury story by Morrison, a fluffy space filler.
#121 - Captain to Captain by Greg CoxPart one of three, set partly on the starship Enterprise during Robert April’s command, and partly on the Enterprise under Kirk. An Interdimensional incursion results in the loss of 9 crewmen. Former first officer Una, known as Njkber One, has a plan to rescue them eighteen years later...she just has to betray Kirk and risk the wrath of planetary locals and Klingons with territorial expansion in mind.
#122 - Irons - Volume 1 - The Engineer by Tristan Roulot & Luc Brahy Of all things, an engineering-based mystery set in a small Canadian port town at the tail end of winter. Engineer Jack Irons, survivor of a bridge collapse as a boy, is in town to visit the grave of a military comrade, when the center of the controversial Confederation Bridge collapses. While Irons is briefly a suspect, he has no interest in investigating the collapse unless he gets paid, but when he gets stuck and needs Mountie help getting across the bay, he figures out a way to take a look and trade his expertise.
It’s a clever mystery with some nice twists. Irons is an interesting, if unlikeable, character, and it’s nice to see science being the big deal here, along with some social commentary.
#123 - Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC by Reed TuckerWell, we’ve had books about the history of DC and Marvel, so I guess it was time for a history of the inter-company rivalry. It’s fairly solid, despite the bias towards Marvel, and the lament at the end about the corporate subsuming of both companies is even more true now.
Irritating note: I went with the audiobook version of this and writer Gerry Conway is referred to throughout as Gary Conway. Awfully sloppy. The narrator also can’t fo accents — his attempts to render Alan Moore were cringeworthy.
#124 - Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln ChildI have to admit that I’m sometimes dubious about the choices I make...choosing to gallumph through the Pendergast series is one of those moments. I’ve already read Cemetery Dance, which rather annoyed me with its take on Obeah. This one annoyed me by being ludicrously padded for a story involving a rampaging beast trapped in a museum. Even when it’s over and wrapped...it keeps going. Multiple endings, and two setups for the sequel, which is equally as padded from the looks of it.
Quirkyreader wrote: "Wow, 26 more to go🐸"25 after the next post! But I still have ~12 In the virtual TBR.
#125 - Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers, Vol. 18 by David Michelinie, John Byrne, George Perez, et alThe Avengers get shaved down to seven members and immediately encounter massive problems both inside and outside the team. Wanda and Pietro discover they’re not who they thought they were, and Tony Stark discovers part of his father’s legacy lurking in the basement of Avengers Mansion. It’s a middle of the road collection, but it does look quite good.
#126 - Beyond the Wall of Sleep by H. P. LovecraftAn encounter with a monster in human form who can find his way to the monsters outside, and take others with him. In audio form, read by narrator Ian Gordon.
#127 - Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini by Cynthia Von BuehlerHard Case Crime occasionally pops out an oddity, and this is certainly that — a mystery that mixes up a neophyte private eye whose investigator father has forbidden her to get into the business (instead dragging in his gay son), Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a gaggle of sham spiritualists and their hangers-on. It’s a slapdash story, with Minky getting *way* too involved with Houdini. It’s based on the murky circumstances around Houdini’s death — was he murdered? Or did he died from a ruptured appendix and sepsis? Von Buehler isn’t entirely definitive, but she has a good time with the story.
#128 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington IrvingI ended up listening to two audio versions (one read by Tom Mison) and reading the text. It’s a trifle, methinks, but amusing. The Tom Mison reading brings considerable gravitas to Irving’s story.
#129 - Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 7 by Archie Goodwin, Allyn Brodsky, Gerry Conway, George Tuska and othersTony Stark bounces between dimensions, saves an old friend, investigates industrial skullduggery, has his new heart rejected, and fights off a bunch of terraformers before getting involved in handling a gang land situation. All this and girl trouble. Overall it’s a pretty messy volume.
#130 - San Francisco Municipal Railway by Robert P. Townley and John E. Perry, JrA Western Railroader title that combines two earlier publications between card stock covers. Provides an overview of the merger between the Market Street Railway and the Muni and the subsequent changes and developments between 1944 and 1964.
#131 - Batman & Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Vol. 2 (World's Finest by Edmund Hamilton, Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and others Includes the stories from issues #95-#116, pretty much running the gamut from goofy creature stories to goofy creature stories on alien worlds, all featuring outlandish plots for the Superman/Batman/Robin team. One highlight has magical imp Mxyzptlk fighting with Bat-Mite and several feature Batman getting powers. Goofy stuff, but great silly fun to read.
#132 - Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 20: Into the Time Stream by Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Chris Claremont and othersMost of Walt Simonson’s short stint on the series, through which we meet, in passing, the Time Variance Authority. After closing out the Acts of Vengeance event, the FF are first sent forward in time, then backwards, and sideways. That done, Reed and Sue have to come to grips with their overpowered son, Franklin, both young and old, which drags things into a crossover with the X-Men side of things via that year’s annuals. The Days Of Future Present event is, frankly, pretty terrible. Simonson’s main storyline is speedy and busy, but doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, though I was amused at the alternate timeline where Josef Stalin rules Russia as a Disney-created animatronic mecha.
#133 - You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup by Peter DoggettAn exhaustive look at the breakdown and breakup of the Beatles and the aftermath, which kept entire legal firms employed for decades. It’s sometimes exhausting to read given the bad behaviour from numerous parties
#134 - What If? Classic, Vol. 4 by various and sundryThe fourth collection of Marvel’s “alternate timeline” series, and finally references to the Multiverse are creeping in. The stories range from good to thuddingly mediocre with the occasional dive into the ridiculous — as with Aunt May being bitten by the radioactive spider, rather than Peter Parker. The last half of the book also includes digressions into deep Marvel History.
#135 - The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip PullmanPullman examines the beginning of the Christian church and its preponderance of evils by retelling the story of Jesus in prosaic terms, involving a twin brother who sees the low-level unorganized Rabbinical capacities of Jesus and formulates a scheme for creating a grand, shining church, a shining Kingdom of God. In this Christ is aided by “the Stranger” — who might be a man, an avatar of Paul of Tarsus, or something more primeval. It’s all allegorical, of course, but does make its points quite suitably.
The audio version is worth visiting — Pullman is an excellent reader.
Mount TBR 2020
Books mentioned in this topic
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Callan Volume 1 (other topics)
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Lightweight manga about an adolescent ninja-in-training who vines down from his mountain home and gets drawn into a junior baseball team. Hijinks and hilarity follow. Not great, and baseball leaves me cold, but harmless kid-sized fun.