Review of Catwoman 7-12

Catwoman Volume 2: Dollhouse, by Judd Winnick, with art by Adriana Melo & Guillem March. Collecting issues 7-12.

Runaways and prostitutes are being kidnapped off the streets of Gotham. It’s the kind of street-level crime that the GCPD has barely noticed, and that Batman doesn’t often get involved with at this stage, leaving Catwoman to do the job. But working closely with the police to bring down this creep may jeopardize the lucrative business she has going on as a high-end car thief.

She has hooked up with a mildly-electrified character called Spark who helps her with the thievery, but whose ultimately loyalty becomes a plot point by issues 11 and 12. Her new fence and partner, Gwen Altamont, is a nice addition to the cast, and her growing working relationship with Detective Alvarez is also a nice subplot. Issue 10 ends with her surprising the Detective in his home. She just came for a chat, but even a helpful police Detective will not take kindly to an unannounced visit from a wanted criminal. There is quite a fight scene, after which their partnership progresses. 

I far preferred March’s realistic pencils in issues 9 & 10 to Melo’s cartoony style of art in issues 7 & 8, and 11 & 12. Yes, Catwoman should be fun and energetic and have a bit of humor, but there is an underlying grittiness that March expresses better.

Winnick did a good job with issue 9, a Night of Owls crossover that brought the Penguin into the book. But this did not slow down the “Dollhouse” arc, as he was able to include the crossover events without having to divert too far from his own ongoing storyline. The appearance of Batman in issue 12 is also handled well. 

In every iteration of Catwoman, she straddles the lines between villain and hero. This New 52 version of the transition from villain to anti-hero has been enjoyable to see. Winnick has a good handle of the character, and consistently gives her good and entertaining bits of dialogue. I have fallen behind in my reading of this title, which continues to sell relatively well. 

Note: Issues 1-6 were reviewed here.

Source: public library

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:
Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (hc), by Pope John Paul II, pages 79 - 114.
A Bear Called Paddington (hc), by Michael Bond, pages, pages 1-107
Cut & Thrust (ua), by Stuart Woods, COMPLETED. Reviewed here. 
Callahan’s Key (ua), by Spider Robinson, pages 1 – 38. 

COMICS:
Fables 100
America vs. the JSA 3 & 4
King Conan 12, and Conan the King 23 & 31
The New Avengers 26
Doctor Who (11th) 13-16

Review of Cut & Thrust

Book #2. Cut & Thrust, by Stuart Woods. Unabridged audio.

As Stuart Woods’ productivity has exploded over the last few years (I assume with co-writers, but I don’t know that), his output has varied in quality. Unfortunately, this book is one of the weaker ones.

The core problem is that there is not one book-length story going on in this book. Yes, lots of little things are happening, but it’s hard to figure out the exact plot. It seems as if Woods had a lot of plot ideas, but couldn’t figure out how to develop them into novel-length plots, so he put them all in this book. Whatever the genesis of book was, the overall novel falls a bit short.

Stone Barrington is the lead character, but most of the plot involves Catherine Lee’s run for the Democrat party Presidential nomination. Much of the story takes place at the party’s nominating convention, and there were enough shortcuts and simplifications of the process to make these parts of the novel annoying. I spent a few years as a C-SPAN junkie, and I know that that is NOT how the nominating process works.

That story wraps up about two-thirds of the way through the book, at which point Ed Eagle moves to the forefront of the narrative. He has been the lead of a handful of Woods’ prior novels including Santa Fe Edge, reviewed here. His storyline wraps up in a nice manner. Stone’s best friend Dino is not in the book very much, just long enough for him to take the next step in his career. 

 And of course, since this is a Stuart Woods novel, everything works out for every character in the best way possible – Dino is just one example. I noticed that this started happening about a dozen novels ago, but there are times that the good fortune of Stone Barrington and his friends is simply unbelievable.

Source: public library

Review of A Delicate Truth

Book #1. A Delicate Truth, by John Le Carré. Unabridged audio.

With this, I have read all of Le Carré’s novels. I don’t know if the 80+ year-old writer has any more novels planned, but if he does, I’ll probably read them. That is not to say that I have loved all of Le Carré’s novels from the last fifteen years or so. Certainly, his work was at its best during the Cold War, while some of his post-9/11 novels have left me cold.

I found A Delicate Truth to be a bit of a return to form, following the story of the veteran British civil intelligence officer caught up in the machinations of the British police state in the era of the war on terror. The man is involved in a botched kidnapping attempt in Gibraltar, an event that remains buried for years. But a young intelligence officer’s investigation into the affair turns the story into as much of a mystery tale as it is an espionage tale. The young officer faces many personal and professional risks in his attempts to bring the details of this episode to light. Many of his colleagues and superiors would prefer the events to stay buried.

Le Carré experiments with shifting time lines in this novel, and it took a while for me to realize this. Two main characters are in fact the same person, at different stages of their careers in intelligence, operating under different names. Once I “got” this, I appreciated this literary technique.

This is certainly not Le Carré at his best, this book does not crackle with the intensity of his Cold War novels in the 1970s and 1980s. But it is one of his better post-Cold War novels, and I was satisfied with the reading experience.

Source: public library

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:
A Delicate Truth (ua), by John Le Carre. Completed. Review will follow.
The Secret History of Wonder Woman (hc), by Jill LePore, pages176-210 (body of text) , and 369-432 (notes)
Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (hc), by Pope John Paul II, pages 51- 79.
Paul & The Faithfulness of God, by N.T. Wright (pb), pages 117-135.

COMICS:
Loki Agent of Asgard 1-5
America vs. the JSA 1 & 2
Fables 94-99.

2014 reading analysis

I have been keeping track of my annual reading for nearly 10 years now. In 2014, I read 55 books. This compares to 66 books read last year, compares to 75 in 2012, 84 in 2011, 73 in 2010, 80 in 2009, 110 in 2008, and around 140-150 in the few years before that. This decrease from the mid 2000s is because I listen to an absolute ton of podcasts, which cut into my reading time. The continued decrease of my reading in 2014 I blame on the amount of podcasting I did in 2014.  I hope that I can again read 50 books in 2015.

I have always been a fan of audio, and 30 of the 55 books I consumed this year were via unabridged audio. 14 were traditional dead-tree books, 10 were graphic novels or collections, and 1 was on my Nook.

The 47 novels I read break down as follows: (note that the total exceeds 47, as many books fit into more than one category)
Fantasy/SF -- 24
Mystery/Thriller -- 18
Religious/Christian --5
YA -- 4
Historical -- 2
Contemporary --1


The 8 non-fiction works I read break down as follows: (note that the total exceeds 8, as many books fit into more than one category)
Christian/Theology -- 5
Literature -- 3
Memoir -- 2
History -- 1

2014 Reading List

In December:

55.A.D. 30 (ua), by Ted Dekker.
54. Doom's Day, Book #3: Wreckage (pb), by Pierce Askegren and Eric Fein
53. Carnal Curiosity (ua), by Stuart Woods
52. Identity Crisis (gn), by Brad Meltzer & Rags Morales
51. Star Wars: Honor Among Thieves (ua), by James S. A. Corey
50. Batman From the Thirties to the Seventies (gn), edited by E. Nelson Bridwell

Earlier in the year:
49. Deadly Heat (ua), by "Richard Castle"
48. The Best of Simon & Kirby, by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Hardcover collection.
47. Garment of Shadows (ua), by Laurie R. King
46. Stand-Up Guy (ua), by Stuart Woods

45. Christmas Mourning (ua), by Margaret Maron
44. The Equalizer (hc), by Michael Sloan
43. Severed Souls (ua), by Terry Goodkind
42. Doom's Day, Book #2: Sabotage (pb), by Pierce Askegren and Danny Fingeroth
40. & 41. Left Behind: The Kids, books 31 & 32, by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins, and Chris Fabry.
39. The Divine Hours: Prayers for (pb), compiled by Phyllis Tickle
38. The Martian (ua), by Andy Weir
37. Batman Unmasked (hc), by Will Brooker
36. Star Wars: Kenobi (ua), by John Jackson Miller
35. Faith of the Fallen (ua), by Terry Goodkind
34. Unintended Consequences (ua), by Stuart Woods
33. The Valley of Fear (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
32. Blood of Tyrants (ua), by Naomi Novik
31. Both / And (pb), by Rich Nathan and Insoo Kim
30. The Forgotten (ua), by David Baldacci
29.The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (ua), by Lillian Jackson Braun
28. Fairest, book 1: Wide Awake (gn), by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, and many artists
27. Ghost Train to New Orleans (pb), by Mur Lafferty
26. Hickory Dickory Dock (ua), by Agatha Christie
25. Saints Behaving Badly (hc), by Thomas J Craughwell
24. Justice League Dark, volumes 2 and 3, graphic novel collection. Written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Ray Fawkes, Mikek Janín, and others.
23. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (ua), by Steig Larsson
22. Identical (ua), by  Scott Turow
21. The Athena Project (ua), by Brad Thor
20. The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime (ua), edited by Phyllis Tickle
19. Billion Dollar Batman (ua), by Bruce Scivally
18. Wonder Woman: Iron (gn), by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and others
17. The Innocent (ua), by David Baldacci
16. Song of the Quarkbeast (ua), by Jasper Fforde
15. Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man (gn), by Carl Banks
14. Doom's Day, Book #1: Rampage (pb), by Danny Fingeroth and Eric Fein
13. The Guild of the Cowry Catchers: Book 5 (ua), by Abigail Hilton
12. Aquaman: The Others (gn), by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Joe Prado
11. Doing Hard Time (ua), by Stuart Woods
10. Star Wars: Scoundrels (ua), by Timothy Zahn
  9. Shadow Ops: Control Point (ua), by Myke Cole
  8. Little Black Sheep (Nook), by Ashley Cleveland
  7. The Last Dragonslayer (ua), by Jasper Fforde
  6. Before Watchmen: Comedian & Rorschach, by Brian Azzarello, J.G. Jones, and Le Bermejo
  5. Inferno Revealed (hc), by Deborah Parker and Mark Parker
  4. The Gearheart (ua), by Alex White
  3. The Great Fables Crossover (gn), by Bill Willingham, et. al.
  2. Silent Partner (pb), by Terrence King
  1. His Last Bow (ua), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle