Whoo boy. Fisk is back and of course Spider-Man can’t let that stand. He (Spider-Man) really does need to find a way to deal with him (Kingpin) before he (Spider-Man) ends up dealt with… violently.
Along the way, we get a bit more humanity from Jameson, a new mysterious (ish) opponent/ally? in Black Cat, and a bit more Elektra. Good times.
I really do prefer these more ongoing story lines.
Onward!
Well that’s just a lot of fun.
Kid friendly graphic novel about a young boy named Jack with a single mother working multiple jobs to keep everything afloat and a non-verbal autistic kid sister (Maddy) that he helps take care of. That’s already a bunch.
And we haven’t even gotten to the point where they trade the family car for some magic beans (get it? Jack?), grow a crazy magical farm, befriend homeschooled neighborhood girl Lily, and adventures ensue.
It’s a great time and I really do appreciate the increased variety of characters.
Well, well worth a read and the children enjoy it as well.
Ooh boy. After The Outside set up the world and characters, ending with ’the Outside’ coming in and wrecking havoc on the planet Jai, I wasn’t sure what was next but I surely wanted to find out… I even noted in that review that there were sequels, and yet somehow I never got around to reading them.
I’m so glad I did now. This is a wonderfully weird (at times) ride into what happened next.
Once again, I think that one thing that the Fallen does well is dealing with all manner of diversity (particularly in the neuro- space). People are people. And it really makes you think: what if we actually could live in a society where people just expect to meet others where they are and that’s okay. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and things that make their skin crawl. And that’s okay. It’s interesting to see a book really dig into that, all along the backdrop of super powerful AI ‘Gods’, their Angels (who have issues all thier own), and monsters (who, it turns out, are sometimes people as well, just a fair bit further away from the ’norm’) from outside space and time.
Anyways.
It’s a really solid sequel. Honestly, I loved it even more than the first book. Well, well worth a read. I really look forward to what’s next.
The one that starts digging into Logan’s issues. And oh does he have issues.
Best part:
A good part of the story is Spider-Man and Wolverine teaming up. That’s just wonderful. I really enjoy the contrast.
And Daredevil! Even if not much. Good times.
I like the longer stories that, while having some self contained parts, are really part of a larger story. In this case: who was Logan and where (when?) did he come from?
Onward!
Such a teenager sometimes. Too broke for a new costume. Caught passing notes in class. Some guy my things up. The X-Men. You know.
I love it. It’s relatively lower stakes. Gives Peter and MJ some time to breathe. Builds the conflict between Peter in school and as Spider-Man.
Plus, funny foreign accent guy is amusing and we get an X-Men crossover.
A good one.
Onwards!
I really liked this book. Far more than Consider Phlebas.
In a nutshell, the story follows Jernau Gurgeh, one of (if not the) best ‘Player of Games’ in the entire Culture. We had a hint of how important games could be in Consider Phlebas, with the stakes literally being life and death (although not of the player, /of course/), but here we see it can be so much more.
And Gurgeh is really into games.
I get that. I appreciate that. Games have this special spot in the universe. A microcosm of all that can be, following very specific and often completely knowable rules. It’s a way to compete (or co-operate (or both)) with other game players, to get to know them and the game you’re all playing together. Sometimes, it’s all about winning… but sometimes it’s so much more.
And Gurgeh gets that.
So when he’s offered (when Special Circumstances offers… you accept) to travel two years, almost out of the galaxy, to visit an alien empire where there is incredibly complicated thousand year old game that essentially dominates their entire society–choosing their leaders, guiding their religious views.
Oh, I love it.
I’ll leave the detail there, but the entire idea that a not entirely likeable (especially at first) player of games can be the protagonist. Oh, that’s just lovely.
Easily my favorite book of the Culture so far (even if I’ve only read the two so far 😄). I really will have to check at the end if it stands up.
Worth a read.
Wherein we get this universe’s history. How the a Professor and Magneto started out to build a mutant utopia, how some minor* differences in option came between them, and how Xavier ended up in a wheelchair.
It’s a nice longer story and I really do dig the conflict between the Professor and Magneto. There are also some really interesting ideas buried within the action. Ends justifying the means. The cost(s) of rehabilitation or even imprisonment of a super powered prisoner. What it means to be human.
A solid story.
Onward.
Magneto is back and mad. The Brotherhood vs the Ultimates! The X-Men are nowhere to be found. At least not ent S.H.I.E.L.D.
Probably for the best, given the various infighting and differences of opinion in each and every one of these groups. They really do their best to constantly shake up teams in comics, don’t they.
One thing I never really had reason to consider before… you know what Captain America’s shield, Thor’s hammer, and Iron Man’s armor have in common?
They’re all made of metal…
Unfortunately for all the promises, surprisingly little actually happens. It will be interesting to see what’s next… but something more now would have been nice.
Onward.
All the fallout and barely time to process.
And now Jean is having hallucinations and Beast’s new flame is digging for secrets…
Quite a ride, setting up all sorts of what’s next.
Also, sudden art shifts yo. I like the new one. Don’t think that will ever stop being surprising.
Onward.
That… was not at all the book I was expecting it to be.
If I were reading this book to my children, I imagine I would have liked it quite a bit more. It’s got the zany sort of weirdness that really appeals to children–it’s in some ways much easier for them to jump from insane to imaginary, while at the same time not needing that much of a reason for things to be like they are.
The whole land of Skree was green and flat. Except for the Stony Mountains in the north, which weren’t flat at all. Nor were they green. They were rather white from all the snow, though if the snow melted, something green might eventually grow there.
The entire prologue is like that. Prologues. There are 3 of them. And they’re all like that.
It’s amusing… and then it’s too much.
That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless.