Locke and Key Volume 1 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Posted on by

I’ve been sitting on this post for about a week now. I liked the comic Locke and Key, but wasn’t thrilled with it. I keep trying to figure out how to say I liked it, but am not that interested without making it sound like the book is bad. So I figured directly is really my only option.

I liked the book, but will probably not continue reading it. It wasn’t that it was bad. It just didn’t grab me. I didn’t feel engaged with any of the characters and the first 2-3 issues left me confused. The last few issues were better, but by that time I had pretty much checked out. If you like horror comics, give this series a try.

Batman: Death by Design by Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor

Posted on by

One of the seminal book on art deco is The Metropolis of Tomorrow by Hugh Ferriss. Ferriss took the skyscraper and made it an art form as well as inspiring a legion of designers and architects. One of those inspired by the book was designer/writer Chip Kidd. He took Ferriss’ ideas, threw in a dash of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and created (along with artist Dave Taylor) a Batman story set in this art decoish universe, Batman: Death by Design. The art and the look of the story are amazing, the concept is brilliant and the execution misses the mark. Not in the art, but in the mediocre story. But it is a gorgeous book to look at. Let’s see what went wrong.

Continue reading →

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

Posted on by

Isaac Asimov has a very unique plotting style. His book rarely have any action in them, or more accurately all the action happens off screen. And in places it can be frustrating. A character leaps to a conclusion and the reader is wondering why this crazy character is spouting nonsense. Asimov then clearly and logically lays out all the information that led to that conclusion and the reader then understands. But, during that process, you just get the feeling that every Asimov character is much smarter than you. This is the feeling I had several times while reading The Caves of Steel. It’s a mystery mixed with science fiction in the form of robots, along with a lengthy digression on humans and space colonization. Overall a fun read. So, let’s see what happened.

Continue reading →

Fray by Joss Whedon, Karl Moline and Andy Owens

Posted on by

Long, long time ago, back in the last decade of the twentieth century, current hot writer/director Joss Whedon had a movie about a young girl who has the power (and responsibility) to kill vampires and protect the world. The movie wasn’t that good, but somehow mutated into a cult show that survived for 7 seasons (and had a spinoff that lasted another 5 seasons). As the shows were wrapping up, Whedon had an idea (a wonderful, *awful* idea) to throw his beloved idea into the far future. So, he dipped his toe into the comic book world and came up with Fray. The basic idea is a slayer in the far future. So, let’s check out what happened.

Continue reading →

The Other by Matthew Hughes

Posted on by

After reading, and loving, the first two books in the To Hell and Back series, I decided to check out some more books by Matthew Hughes. The first one I grabbed was The Other. The book revolves around master criminal Luff Imbry, who stars in several Matthew Hughes short stories. I wasn’t aware of those stories before I started reading the book, so this was my first exposure to Luff. I liked the character, but the story was just missing something. Let’s check out what happened.

Continue reading →

Triggers by Robert J Sawyer

Posted on by

Robert Sawyer isn’t a great writer, but he usually writes about great ideas. His WWW series dealt with an emerging AI, while Flashforward dealt with seeing into the future (and how that affects free will). His newest book, Triggers, deals with memory at the quantum level and an accident that links people’s memories together. It’s an interesting concept inside a mediocre story. So, let’s find out what happens.

Continue reading →

Who Killed Retro Girl by Brian Micheal Bendis and Michael Oeming

Posted on by

I can’t believe that I’ve never reviewed any of the Powers comcis by Brian Micheal Bendis and Michael Oeming. The series is set in a super hero city where the main characters are non-super hero police officers who are involved with investigating super hero related homicides. The basic concept (cops in a super hero universe) sounds similar to Alan Moore and Gene Ha’s Top Ten, but in execution it’s much different. The first storyline, which introduces the series, is the amazing Who Killed Retro Girl? Bendis was mainly known for his gritty urban crime series prior to Powers, and he transitioned that style into a super hero story without losing a beat. So, let’s see what happens.

Continue reading →

Costume Not Included by Matthew Hughes

Posted on by

After finishing the first book in the To Hell and Back series, Damned Busters (review), I eagerly ran out to get the sequel, Costume Not Included. Where the first book dealt with some philosophical issues in addition to some crime fighting, this book does a lot more on the philosophical/religious side with only minor crime fighting. But it handles it in such a fun way that I’m more eager then ever for the grand finale. Let’s see what happened.

Continue reading →

Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

Posted on by

I have seen Olaf Stapledon’s name in several recent articles talking about classic science fiction. Prior to this, I had barely heard his name before. So, I decided to go out and read his most famous work: Last and First Men. It is subtitled “A story of the near and far future” and it that’s probably the most accurate description. So, let’s check it out.

Continue reading →

Trolls in the Hamptons by Celia Jerome

Posted on by

I had never read anything by Celia Jerome before, but the general plot of Trolls in the Hamptons (a comic artist has her drawings come to life) seemed like a really fun idea. And, while the book was more of a romance (Celia Jerome is reportedly the pen name of romance writer Babarba Metzger) than I usually read, it was still a fun read. The basic concept is interesting and Jerome has been able to extend the concept into several sequels. Let’s check out the story.

Continue reading →