July Reading List

38. The Maze (nook), by Jason Brannon
37. The President's Vampire (ua), by Christopher Farnsworth
36. The Pope Who Quit (pb), by Jon M Sweeney
35. Memoirs of Sherlock Homes (ua), by Arthur Conan Doyle
34. More or Less (ua), by Jeff Shinaberger


Earlier in 2013:
33. Blood & Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (pb), by various
32. The Children of Hurin (ua), by J.R.R. Tolkien
31. Atlantyx, (pb), by Chase Dalton
30. Callahan's Secret (ua), by Spider Robinson
29. Take Four (ua), by Karen Kingsbury
28. Skull-Kickers, Treasure Trove volume 1, by Jim Zub and various artists
27. The Dalek Generation (pb), by Nicholas Briggs
26. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
25. The Areas of My Expertise (pb), by John Hodgman
24. The Skin Map (ua), by Stephen Lawhead
23. Catching Fire (ua), by Suzanne Collins
22. Quitter (ua) , by Jon Acuff.
21. The Bone Bed (ua), by Patricia Cornwell.
20. Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart (hc), by J.D. Greear
19. Left Behind: The Kids #28 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
18. Left Behind: The Kids #27 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
17. Left Behind: The Kids #26 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
16. Time Travelers Strictly Cash (aa), by Spider Robinson
15. The Devil's Company (ua), by David Liss
14. Deadly Straits (ua), by R.E. McDermott
13. Doctor Who: Paradise Towers (ua), by Stephen Wyatt
12. DC Universe Secret Origins (gn), by various writers and artists
11. The Gods of Mars (ua), by Edgar Rice Burroughs
10. Craving Grace (hc), by Lisa Velthouse
9. The Sign of Four (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
8. DC Dead (ua), by Stuart Woods
7. A Study in Scarlet (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. The Hunger Games (ua), by Suzanne Collins
5. Take Three (ua), by Karen Kingsbury
4. Mary Through The Centuries (hc), by Jaroslav Pelikan
3. Roil (ua), by Trent Jamieson
2. The Devil You Know (ua), by Mike Carey
1. Ender's Shadow Ultimate Collection (gn), by Mike Carey

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

Grab your current read.

Open to a random page.

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

From chapter 2 of Marta Acosta's The She-Hulk Diaries," about how hard it is for Jennifer Walters to balance her love life, her career as high-powered attorney, and her occasional romps as the big green wild girl.

“Superheroes have a different dress code, too. Shulky’s PVC, Lycra, leather, and studded ensembles crammed the guest closets. She always dumps her clothes on the floor, expecting me to put away her thigh-high boots, spangled bikini bottoms, and chain-mail bras.”

New 52 Review: Demon Knights, volume 2

Demon Knights, issues 8-15 & 0, by Paul Cornell, Bernard Chang, Diogenes Nieves, Oclair Albert, & Robson Rocha.

This story picks up where the prior arc ended, with our gang of medieval heroes heading to take on the Questing Queen, Mordru her consort, and her hordes, who have gathered in the large and grand city of Alba Sarum. All of our heroes have explaining to do, especially Vandal Savage, who appeared to have betrayed his comrades in the prior battle.

Everyone has a "plan," and nobody is communicating their plan to each other. Even the members of the group who know each other the best, the Demon and Madame Zanadu, keep their own counsel. One of the strengths of the comics medium is the ability to present points of view from various characters, and writer Paul Cornell excels at that.

Their eventual goal is to reach Avalon, but they need Merlin to do that, and his soul is in Hell, so a little side trip through Lucifer's realm is in order. The Demon and Jason Blood are separated, for a time, allowing the Demon to try to revolt against Lucifer. As one would think, this effort fails. But enough magic occurs and enough bargains struck by our band that they succeed in bringing Merlin back to life in time to bring victory and send them all back to their realm, safe and secure.

Cornell manages to drop in regular moments of character building, as the seven find themselves in various pairs and trios throughout the issues. The Shining Knight gets many of the best moments, and we learn much more about Al Jabr and Exoristo than we knew before. This combination of strong plotting, dialogue, and characterization make these issues an enjoyable read.

The story is interrupted by the mandatory #0 issue, which added another month to the reader's wait for the continuation of the ongoing story. But this issue tells the New 52 origin of the Demon, which has both similarities and differences to the backstory created for the Demon by comics legend Jack Kirby

Cornell left the title after wrapping up this story in issue 15, and I admit that it leaves me unsure the future of the title, which continues to sell quite poorly. But even If I don't like the next arc by the next writer before the series is canceled, if this is the only stretch of great issues we get, I think I can be satisfied with this story.

Source: Individual issues purchased by me and my daughter.

Book #38: The Maze:

The Maze, by Jason Brannon. Nook. 

Note: This reviewfirst appeared on the Spirit BladeUnderground blog and podcast.

Jamie Burroughs seems like a thoroughly decent man, with a wife (Amy) and son (Peter). But when he runs into an old girlfriend (Karen) one day at lunch, he quickly finds himself wandering down dark paths of temptation. On the verge of committing adultery with Karen, an angel-faced man snatches him away into a dark labyrinth. This maze, created by angels and demons, is constructed around Jamie's personal sins and weaknesses. He must escape to save not just his own life, but those of Amy & Peter, as well.

The majority of the action takes place in this maze, with Jamie narrating his trauma and travails. He has to solve bizarre puzzles, face demons and monsters, and repent and grow. As exciting as this part of the book should be, there is an issue of pacing, and the book noticeably slows when Jamie enters the labyrinth. And there is a repetitive nature of Jamie's time in the maze, and I worried that the journey would be simply a matter of wandering from room to room, from repentance to repentance. But the specifics of each test are different enough for that to not totally be the case.

Jamie's journey in the maze is broken up by scenes of his family being tormented by a crazed neighbor, who himself is demon-oppressed and psychologically unbalanced. I like that Brannon eschews the typical trope of Christian fiction where saying the "sinner's prayer" solves someone's every problem. We know from our experience that at most, that is the start of a lifelong journey of striving to become more like Jesus. The neighbor, Darrell Gene, is led to the Lord by another man, but this act does not instantly deliver him of his mental and spiritual issues. This is a much more realistic view of sanctification and healing than one often finds in Christian fiction.

These parts of the novel not involving Jamie are told in third-person narration, and there is a bit of recalibrating needed when shifting from the first-person chapters to the third-person chapters. But Brannon is a skilled writer, and he is able to make these two separate aspects of the novel usually feel like parts of a cohesive whole.

The line between temptation and sin is a tricky one in Christianity, seen most clearly in the person of Christ. He was tempted in every way, yet without sin. That sounds like it could be a semantic quibble, but in theological terms, the distinction between sin and temptation is important. I am not clear in this novel where that line was crossed for Jamie, and whether this labyrinth was about temptation or whether it was about sin. It is also not clear to me why Jamie had to go through these tests, and whether the point is that every believer has their own labyrinth to traverse, or if Jamie was a special case. That's never answered.

There are obvious symbolic and allegorical aspects in The Maze, and yet the book clearly takes place in our world. So there a was a bit of a disconnect for me as to how much of Jamie's work in the maze, was "real" and how much was in a spiritual realm or merely symbolic. The demons physically built the maze, there was noise and saws and construction, in scenes that were not from Jamie's perspective, but there was also a clear "in the spirit" or "in the mind" aspect to his journey.

As a reader, I believe that symbolism is best when it is not explained. Christian fiction does not do nuance particularly well. I would have liked Brannon to leave some of the imagery unexplained, as opposed to being spoon-fed all the meanings.

Hearkening back to C.S. Lewis, Brannon is not afraid to include elements from Greek mythology (and a few others) in his version of spiritual warfare. That gave the book a well-rounded feel.  There is also a theme involving the theology of free will, and I liked that discussion.  Overall, this is a solid book, and it stands out from other Christian novels in positive ways

Source: Received from the author via the Spirit BladeUnderground blog and podcast.

Book #37: The President's Vampire

The President's Vampire, by Christopher Farnsworth. Unabridged audio.

Nathaniel Cade’s job is to protect the President, and carry out his orders in the interest of the United States. But he is not a Secret Service agent, a CIA man, or a military officer. He is a vampire. And he has been doing this job for well over a hundred years. You’ve probably never wondered why every assassination since Lincoln has taken place during the day. Now you know.

This novel is the second book to feature Cade and his current handler, Zach Barrows. This is the follow-up to Blood Oath, which I reviewed here. Cade is this country’s most secret secret, battling the mystical and the monstrous. In this novel, there are snake-headed monsters trying to take down the United States, working through agents both outside and inside the US government. Are these beings our alien overlords? Are they genetically-altered humans? Or are they the next step in human evolution? Whatever these are, how can Cade stop them?

There is character growth in many of the characters in this second novel, especially for Zach. He had just met Cade in the first novel, and is still getting his “sea legs” under him while trying to work out the details of this particular threat. He begins to fall for a colleague, and (no spoilers, but no surprise), this does not work out well. Being Cade’s liaison is a job that does not mix with a social life.

Because his battle has been long and Cade is immortal, we get to jump around history, although the majority of the action takes place in the present. We visit 1928, 1963, and 2001, revealing the role that Cade has played in important points in American history. These scenes served as reminders of Cade’s nature, as well as revealing that this plot may stretch back longer into the past than first assumed.

The story is exciting, the plot interesting, and the conclusion thrilling. The last scene itself is chilling, and a reminder that this is not just another military thriller. No, the main character in this novel is most assuredly a vampire.

Actor Bronson Pinchot does another fine job narrating this book. He has to perform a range of voices in this book, and brings a sense of dread to Cade’s intense voice.

Source: public library.

Adapting Holmes:Baker Street 1-5

Baker Street: Honour Among Punks, consisting of issues 1-5, by Guy Davis & Gary Reed. Caliber Press, March 1989 – January 1990.

Baker Street is a black-and-white comic set in an alternative 1989. It is a world where World War II never happened, and the continuing Victorian values and fashion clash with London’s burgeoning punk subculture. In this setting, we get a Holmesian tale of jewel thefts, deception and diversion.

American medical student Susan Prendergast needs lodgings, and finds them at 112 Baker Street, above a bookstore owned by Mr. Hudson. The rent is free, as long as she cleans up the apartment. This ends up being more than she bargained for. One of Sue’s roommates is Sharon Ford, a former detective inspector, who still works with the police on a consulting basis, when not immersed in the punk scene. The third roommate, another punk named Samantha, does not welcome Sue warmly, but Sam does save her from a beating when Sue decides to attend an underground punk club on her own.

A string of jewel thefts have occurred, all of which coincided with fights among the various gangs of punks. These include the Gothics, the Towers, and the Irregulars (whose headquarters is an old theatre called the Baskervilles). It turns out that Sharon is actually also the Tower gang leader Harlequin. But as we learn at the end of issue 4, she is not the only character we’ve met with a secret identity in the underground.

Is Sharon playing both sides of the legal fence? Has she fallen back into her drug addiction, or even turned to dealing? And what do all of these punk gang fights have to do with jewel thefts anyway? Using her amazing skills of observation and deduction, and a willingness to put her new roommate in peril, Sharon unmasks the thief and brings at least a temporary peace to the punk wars.

There is certainly a lot of story here. These five issue contain nearly 140 pages of story, along with some nice special features. And the writing is dense – not overly wordy, but packed with information and characterization. We get an entire story,from beginning to end, in these five issues, with a hint on the last page of issue 5 that Sharon’s activities have been noted, and that she may indeed have enemies in high places.

I have not read a black-and-white comic in many years, and it is certainly a different experience from the four-color comics I am used to. The detail of the work was readily apparent, and the artist’s ability to differentiate the many characters without the help of color was an accomplishment. The handwritten text boxes were difficult to read, although they did give the book a “diary” sort of feel. To be fair, I don’t recall have trouble reading this text when I first ran across this series 20+ years ago.

This comic ran ten issues, and the second arc (“Children of the Night’) is contained in the last five issues, which I expect I will review at some point in the near future.

Source: My own collection. I am almost certain that I bought these as they came out, and I would guess it was from Dave’s Comics, in Richmond, Virginia.

Book #36: The Pope Who Quit

The Pope Who Quit, by Jon M Sweeney. Paperback.

When Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from his role as leader of the Catholic Church, news reports regularly mentioned that such an event had not happened in over seven centuries. This book tells the story of the only other man to voluntarily leave the papacy. Written while Benedict XVI still served as pope, Jon Sweeney tells the fascinating story of Pope Celestine V, whose tenure lasted only 15 weeks. “Fifteen disastrous weeks,” as chapter 14 is titled.

The College of Cardinals was deadlocked in 1294 about who should succeed Pope Nicholas IV, who had died two years before. The small group of electors was evenly split by their loyalties to different noble families, and they had been unable to achieve the required two-thirds vote. From his hermitage atop the surrounding mountains, the saintly 84-year-old hermit Peter Morrone was disgusted by the length of time the Church had been without a leader. He wrote a letter to the Cardinals telling them that they risked God’s wrath if the let the church remain without a pope for much longer. For whatever reason, be it the Holy Spirit, or be it the opportunity to name an outsider that neither side could criticize, Peter was elected by acclamation to the papacy.

This highly spiritual man was thoroughly unprepared and overmatched by the worldly requirements of the position. If the papacy were merely a job requiring spiritual leadership, Celestine V may have turned out to be a great leader. But there are worldly duties as well, from managing relations with the royal houses of Europe to dealing with issues arising from the Crusades. He had little interest, inclination, or ability to handle these duties, a fact which quickly became apparent.

Within six months of writing his first world-changing letter, he wrote another. With it, Celestine V became the first pontiff to ever abdicate the position. His reign was short and turbulent, but certainly memorable. And Jon M. Sweeney does an excellent job of making the events of the story come alive.

This is very little historical evidence for the events that Sweeney writes about, as he is quick to admit. Much of the specifics in this book are based on general historical knowledge of the period, and is applied to the events of this story. And even the documents that do exist from the period (or shortly thereafter) come in varying degrees of reliability.

What Sweeney had to do was not just find the documents, but evaluate them before deciding which information to include. There are more than twenty pages of notes at the end of the book, indicating the level of research that went into creating this book.

Source: public library.

Podcast Marathon

Hanging out at my Dad's house, caring for him after his knee surgery = not doing very much = PODCAST MARATHON!  Here is what I listened to yesterday:

Danger Room #91. Adam & Jeremy read and comment on X-Men issue 109, from 1978.

Major Spoilers #529. Zach is still on vacation, but Rodrigo, Stephen, & Matthew talked about the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, and the recent 6-issue series of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos.

WELS Daily Devotion.

Walking Dead Wednesday #17. Shawn, Chris, & Bill talk about Walking Dead issue #52, where the gang begins to re-assemble after the carnage of issue #48 (whoops. spoilers).

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

Grab your current read.

Open to a random page.

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

From page 24 of Jon M. Sweeney's non-fiction work "The Pope Who Quit," about Celestine V, who became the only Pontiff to ever step down voluntarily ... until earlier this year.

"There have been few occassions where a letter has changed the course of history. This was one of those times. The letter Peter wrote was both private and intended to provoke."

Revisiting Holmes: The Second Collection

Book 35: Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unabridged audio.

This collection of Sherlock Holmes stories contains a nice range of stories, showing the great detective at the height of his powers. There are important stories, stories I remembered well, and stories that (although having read before) I honestly had no clear recollections of.

Doyle is clearly struggling in these stories to find scenarios to bring Holmes together with the now-married Watson. As such, we get stories out of the chronology, including Holmes first case ever, “The Gloria Scott.” And there are some situations that are reminiscent of other stories – a strange situation that is nonsensical to everyone except Holmes, who realizes that there must be a method to the specific madness he is investigating. The Musgrave’s family ritual appears silly to all, but Holmes recognizes it as a secret code – as does someone else. Holmes’ deductions in the story “The Stockholder’s Clerk” follows a familiar path.

There are some terrific stories in this collection, starting with “Silver Blaze,” the story that contains the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. “The Resident Patient” and “The Naval Treaty” are also standouts.

Sherlock’s brother Mycroft makes his first appearance in “The Greek Interpreter,” and there are some terrific scenes of sibling competition. Poor Watson has never felt more inadequate than when he first finds himself in the company of the Holmes brothers.

The last story in this collection was Doyle’s first attempt to end his association with Holmes. “The Final Problem” brings Holmes head-to-head with his greatest villain, Professor Moriarity. Foreshadowed at the beginning of the story, Moriarity and Holmes engage in a physical showdown at the iconic location of the Reichenbach Falls.

Not to spoil anything, but despite Holmes’ death in “The Final Problem,” there are three more collections of stories for me to read, as well as a pair of novels. I will be busy with Holmes for the rest of the year.

Solo Podcast Coming!

After being a co-host on the Book Guys Show for almost a year now, I thought it was tome for me to stretch my wings and do a solo show.  So ... my new show the Quarter-Bin Podcast, will debut sometime around August 1.

The show website is relativelygeekypodcast.blogspot.com, which will also house my daughter's new sow, Uncovering the Bronze Age, and our joint-show Shortbox Showcase. All of these show are comic-book related in one way or another.

Right now, the show's website just has promos for two of the shows (feel free to forward them on to podcasters you know for use on their shows) and a brief entry talking about the shows and the upcoming schedule. 

Just a warning: there will be some cross-promotion between this blog and the new show.

Six-Month Review

Borrowing heavily (to the extent that it may be considered outright thievery in some jurisdictions) from the regular "six-month reviews" that my blog buddy Paul O'Connor does at his excellent Longbox Graveyard blog, I present my first attempt at a six-month review for activity on the blog.

Note that this entry will not be quite as colorful and in-depth as Paul's, but give me a break -- this is my first attempt.

Mostly, I am just going to review and comment upon my most-read posts, and what that says about the blog. And since this is the first one of these, this does betond six-month review, and is more of a "history of the blog, so far" review.

My posts with the most views all have one thing in common: reposts and retweets by people with waaaaaayyyy more followers and friends than I have.

(1) May 28, 2013: Review of John Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise. The author retweeted the review to his 900,000 + followers, and less than .1% of them clicked through to the post. Still ... the most viewed post ever.

(2) December 21, 2012: Review of Jon Auther's book  Europe's Financial Crisis. He has far fewer followers than Hodgman, but many more must have clicked through to the review.

(3) May 28, 2013. My "Teaser Tuesday" entry about Lian Dolan's novel Elizabth the First Wife. I have long been a fan of Lian's, and have blogged about her more than once -- she is a faithful retweeter, and her followers are faithful click-through-ers. As a matter of fact, #7 on this list is my Feb 3, 2013 post on Lian's podcast "The College-Bound Chronicles."

I will note that my semi-regular "Teaser Tuesday" posts generate consistent clicks and comments.

Also, one trend is noteworthy: 2 of the top3 blog posts were from this year, so that's promising.

(4) January 1, 2012. Pure link-bait, this one. I posted my own "Podcast Awards" and tweeted out the entry to every podcaster mentioned, many of whom then retweeted the post. This entry also has the distinction of generating the most comments of any post.

(5) July 26, 2011. More link-bait, a list of podcasts focusing on books and authors. Looking back, this is my first entry that used that little trick, and was (by a factor of two) the most-viewed entry of 2011.

The next time I do this, in about six month, I'll focus just on those six months. Maybe I'll include some blog stats and trends, etc ...

Travel Playlist

My daughter and I are driving to my father's, to care for him after he has knee-replacement surgery. It is roughly a 13-hour trip each way, and so we have loaded up on things to listen to on the way. I am staying for nearly a month, so I am including what I am packing with me, too:

Audiobooks:
The President's Vampire, by Christopher Farnsworth
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
Inferno, by Dan Brown
On the road, we may listen to a few chapters each from World War Z, or Faith of the Fallen.

Music: Including, but not limited to Al Stewart, Bruce Cockburn, John Elefante, the Letter Black, To Kill a Monster, and 77s.

Podcasts:
All 11 episodes of Death & the Acrid Smell of Gunsmoke: A Jonah Hex Podcast. These are re-listens for me, but first-timers for my daughter.
About a dozen of so catch-up episodes (each) of X-Files Truth, Strangers & Aliens, and The LanternCast. These are all shows that I discovered after they had been going on for a while, so am pretty far behind. But this is a chance to do some catching up!

Comic books:
Some reading for my yet-to-be-revealaed upcoming podcast!
The 10-issue series Baker Street, for a future "Adapting Holmes" entry.
Some classic Dr. Doom vs. Iron Man stories.
The awesome hardcover collection, Superman: From the Thirties to the Seventies

On the Nook:
Elizabeth the First Wife, by Lian Dolan 

Dead-tree books:
The She-Hulk Diaries, by Marta Acosta (DON'T JUDGE ME!)
Billion-Dollar Batman, by Bruce Scivally
The Pope Who Quit, by Jon M Sweeney
The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks

Book #34: More or Less

More or Less, by Jeff Shinaberger. Unabridged audio.

Are you familiar with the expression "HumbleBrag?" If you are looking for a definition, I recommend Jeff Shinaberger's book, More or Less.  As I mentioned in a recent review, I do not read a lot of self-help or personal management books, and maybe that lack of familiarity of the genre is influencing my opinion here.

There are certainly many positive things to get out of this book. The basic message is that we in the West have too much, and there are easy ways for us to share our excess with those who have less. This idea of "radical generosity" is certainly a noble sentiment, and a countercultural one, and one with which I heartily agree. Donating gift cards, excess presents, and clothing are all valuable ideas, and the nuanced discussion in the chapter about transportation is a highlight of the book.

And even though Shinaberger does note the charitable work of others, most of the examples of virtuous behavior and innovative service are his own and his own family. There are poignant moments of Shinaberger and his wife growing in the area of generosity and identification with the underclass. But it is frustrating when the moments of passion and commitment on Shinaberger's part are balanced by moments of self-indulgence. The story of watching part of a U2 concert from a parking garage across the street from the stadium was interesting, I guess, but I wasn't sure where exactly it fit in the book.

Source: NoiseTrade website. I appreciate Shinaberger putting his work on this site for a time, which has a "pay what you want" model. This is Shinaberger living up to his ideal of radical generosity.

Happy Birthday, (Captain) America!

I have mentioned the Two True Freaks podcast feed before, and the termendous range of geeky things they talk about regularly. Over the years, the feed has produced a number of excellent Captain America themed episodes. And to note the 237th birthday of America, it seemed a good time to mention some of these episodes, and encourage people to listen.

For the Fourth of July 2012, Scott and fellow podcaster Michael Bailey gave us a commentary for the Marvel film Captain America: The First Avenger. These two guys know their comic books, and they love Cap. It's a great episode.

The prior year, not specifically themed for July 4, TTF released a massive (3 hour) round table discussion of the movie. I believe at least seven podcasters participated. As an extra bonus, they also talked about the unaired pilot for David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman TV show. All of this happens in episode 208.

The British podcasting team of Hey Kids! Comics (mentioned here), have talked about Cap a number of times, most recently in part 2 of their recent coverage of the Marvel Now! initiative. They also recently did two-part coverage of Marvel Comics' Civil War event, in which Cap featured prominently.

All of these episode are available at the new Two True Freaks website, and in iTunes under the "Two True Freaks 2" podcast feed.

New 52 Review: Action Comics

NEW 52 Review: Action Comics, volume 1: Superman and the Men of Steel, collecting issues 1-8. By Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, and Andy Kubert.

Lots of comic book properties get rebooted or reimagined, but when Superman gets rebooted or reimagined (whether on film or in the comics), it is big news. The question is always how much of the accumulated Superman mythology is necessary for the character to be recognizable as Superman?  Krypton? Red briefs? In love with Lois Lane? Newspaper reporter? Smallville's influence?

The New 52 relaunch of Superman, written by Grant Morrison, holds on to much of the past, while moving the Man of Steel into the 21st Century. There are many nods to earlier eras of Superman, including Superman's Golden Age priority of fighting corruption and bringing justice to the poor and unfortunate. Silver-age science fiction is also included in these stories, as there are flashbacks to Krypton, as well as a later appearance by the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Lex Luthor is the primary antagonist in these first issues, although there are strong hints that Mr. Mzyzptlk may be involved. This is the bald, scientific-genius version of Luthor, and he is working with the military to investigate and control the alien invader -- Superman. We quickly learn that Luthor has been in contact with an alien race orbiting Earth, and he has been promised that Earth will be saved from their destructive wrath if the planet turns over Superman. Things do not go as Luthor had planned, and the "Collector of Worlds" (not named Brainiac) pulls Metropolis out of the ground, miniaturizes it, and places it in a bottle, along with many other worlds. Superman is then put in the position of choosing which worlds to save, and decide exactly how important Earth and his Earthling acquaintances are.

There are some typical Morrison-isms in these stories, but as a single volume, the story is easy to follow. From what I understand his penchant for time-hopping and non-sequential narrative become more common in the second volume of stories. I will certainly pick up volume 2 of Action Comics, and finish Morrison's run on the title.

This collection also includes four backup stories that appeared in these issues, all written by Sholly Fisch, with art by Brad Walker and Chriscross. The first two of these, featuring Steel were good enough, but the last two, about Clark's life in Smallville, were terrific. The details that Fisch gives to the relationship between Ma and Pa, and their struggles with infertility before a miracle landed on their farm. This seems to be a modernizing of the tale that has no sense of abandoning the original themes of the origin.

source: public library.

June Reading List

33. Blood & Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (pb), by various
32. The Children of Hurin (ua), by J.R.R. Tolkien
31. Atlantyx, (pb), by Chase Dalton
30. Callahan's Secret (ua), by Spider Robinson
29. Take Four (ua), by Karen Kingsbury


Earlier in 2013:
28. Skull-Kickers, Treasure Trove volume 1, by Jim Zub and various artists
27. The Dalek Generation (pb), by Nicholas Briggs
26. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
25. The Areas of My Expertise (pb), by John Hodgman
24. The Skin Map (ua), by Stephen Lawhead
23. Catching Fire (ua), by Suzanne Collins
22. Quitter (ua) , by Jon Acuff.
21. The Bone Bed (ua), by Patricia Cornwell.
20. Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart (hc), by J.D. Greear
19. Left Behind: The Kids #28 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
18. Left Behind: The Kids #27 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
17. Left Behind: The Kids #26 (pb), by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, & Chris Fabry
16. Time Travelers Strictly Cash (aa), by Spider Robinson
15. The Devil's Company (ua), by David Liss
14. Deadly Straits (ua), by R.E. McDermott
13. Doctor Who: Paradise Towers (ua), by Stephen Wyatt
12. DC Universe Secret Origins (gn), by various writers and artists
11. The Gods of Mars (ua), by Edgar Rice Burroughs
10. Craving Grace (hc), by Lisa Velthouse
9. The Sign of Four (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
8. DC Dead (ua), by Stuart Woods
7. A Study in Scarlet (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. The Hunger Games (ua), by Suzanne Collins
5. Take Three (ua), by Karen Kingsbury
4. Mary Through The Centuries (hc), by Jaroslav Pelikan
3. Roil (ua), by Trent Jamieson
2. The Devil You Know (ua), by Mike Carey
1. Ender's Shadow Ultimate Collection (gn), by Mike Carey