Fiction Friday: Some New Prose Books of Note

Things have continued to be a bit hectic in these parts, as I prepare to transition to a new full time job for the first time in thirteen years and have been doing some work on my house, so I haven't had the time for the intensive reading/research that my usual Friday recommended readings or lost legends entail. I have started reading some books for a lost legends, but I'm not done yet, so today I thought I'd give a quick rundown of some interesting novels/novellas/etc. that have some links to comics that have come out in the past month or so. Not reviews, as they're all on my shelf to be read, but stuff that I think you all might enjoy.

A week ago was Force Friday. For those of you who don't know or haven't read any number of articles complaining about the lack of toys at retailers, this was the day when merch for Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens started hitting stores. I do my best to avoid buying too many toys anymore, due to a lack a space, but books? Man, I'll buy as many of those as I can get my hands on. And aside from toys, five novels, four for the YA crowd and one for the grown-up audience were released. I didn't order them all (yet), but the one that has me really excited is Smuggler's Run. First and foremost, it's a story of Han Solo, who was my favorite of the big three from the original movies, and his Wookiee partner, the inimitable Chewbacca on an adventure. But what makes it even more exciting? It's written by Greg Rucka! Yes that Greg Rucka, the one who wrote some of the best Batman stories of the past 15 years and some of the best crime comics ever. This is the book I'll be reading the minute I finish my current book. And if you like Rucka and/or Star Wars, you should probably check out Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens- Shattered Empire, the comic Rucka is writing that bridges some of the gap between Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens, with his Punisher artist Marco Checchetto.

While I enjoy Star Trek TV, I've never gotten into the Star Trek Expanded Universes in the same way I got into the Star Wars one. The notable exception to this has been anything written by Peter David, who I've written about more than nearly any other writer in comics. After doing a series of novels with the Next Generation cast, and a couple with the original series cast, and even one with the Deep Space Nine cast, David was given his own little corner of the Star Trek Universe. He got an original ship, the Excalibur, staffed mostly by original characters (a handful of the crew are one-or-two episode characters from TNG), and a new region of space to explore in the New Frontier series. The series let David develop, change, and kill characters in a way you could never do in novels featuring characters who appear in other aspects of the franchise. It's a great series, and all the characters read like Peter David characters: well developed, witty, a bit arch. The Captain, Mackenzie Calhoun, is an original creation who is the former liberator and warlord of his homeplanet planet (David has likened him to William Wallace). After years of exciting adventures on the printed page, the New Frontier series seemed to end three years ago with the end of David's contract, not the completion of his plans. I bought the last novel, Blind Man's Bluff, the day it came out, and left it on my shelf, unread, until I was sure no new novels would appear, and entropy took it from there until all those years had passed and it remained unread. That, though, has changed, as a three part novel, The Returned, has been released through Amazon as e-books, the final chapter of which came out this week. So I dusted off my Blind Man's Bluff, am about two thirds of the way through, and planning on reading The Returned after Smuggler's Run. Seriously, folks, even if you aren't Star Trek fans, these are great books, and the level of Star Trek continuity you need to know is minor, and is explained in the books. David has stated the future of New Frontier rests in people buying these e-books, so give them a shot. The entire New Frontier series are available for the Kindle, so there's no better time to start. I think I see a recommended reading in the future with more about the series. Oh, two additional fun facts. One: there have been two New Frontier comics, a one-shot from Wildstorm and a mini-series from IDW. Two: Mackenzie Calhoun is the only Star Trek character to never appear on any TV show to get his own official action figure. It was a mail away item, and I spent ages trying to win on on eBay before triumphing. He will have a place of honor in my nerdcave when it's complete.

I'm late to the game with Humble Bundles, I admit. A lot of that has to do with my general preference for physical media versus digital. You see them talked about all over for comics, where you can get large swaths of a series digitally for a reasonable price and part of the proceeds benefit a charity. As a matter of fact, on Monday, I was sitting on the couch and commented to my wife that I was thinking of buying the then current books bundle, a set of nine Star Wars audio adaptations, but I know that this a rabbit hole I could fall down easily. And you know what? I was right. I bought the Star Wars bundle, and the next day, the new bundle was announced, and this one? Neil Gaiman rarities. It's seventeen uncollected or out of print pieces by Neil Gaiman. This has kind of blown up, as many things Gaiman is involved with, and has set records for Humble Bundles, and been featured in various articles on the internet over the past few days. Now, I own about half a dozen of them, but that's a lot of Gaiman I haven't read. And the charities that are being benefited are The Moth, the live storytelling series, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. How could you say no? You can give as much or as little as you like, but to get the full set of books (including Neil's biography of the band Duran Duran that he wrote as a young journalist), you have to pay above the average contribution, which is currently $19.46.  That's a very good price for a lot of interesting material. Here's the link: the bundle is live for twelve more days, so get it while the getting is good.

And finally, The Shepherd's Crown, the final novel by Sir Terry Pratchett, mastermind behind Discworld, is now available to buy here in the states. I have my copy, and will be reading it after the other books I've talked about. I have quite a reading docket ahead of me. There are worse things...

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 1/14

Star Trek #40
Story: Mike Johnson
Art: Tony Shasteen

"The Q Gambit" wraps up, ending the most exciting Star Trek story I've read since Peter David wrapped his New Frontier series. Mashing up the new versions of the Trek crew with the cast of Deep Space Nine (my favorite Trek series) was a stroke of genius; DS9 had a darker feeling than the earlier series, one more akin to the hanging dread of war that permeates Abrams universe. This issue pulls Q himself front and center. Q has been popping up, making cryptic statements and wry observations throughout most of the series, but now he has to act. He has to work with the crew of the Enterprise and the Defiant to stop the Pah Wraiths, another race of godlike energy beings, from winning the day. Writer Mike Johnson does a very cool thing, which is tie the different cosmic races of the Star Trek universe together. If there are so many races that have these incredible powers (The Q Continuum, The Pah Wraith, The Prophets), why don't they ever interact? Well, Johnson ties that together nicely. And while Kirk gets off a good speech about there never being a no win situation as long as he has his crew, it's Spock who saves the day, using his Vulcan logic to come up with what is a simple solution to how Q can defeat the Pah Wraiths. The story has captured the personalities of both casts perfectly, and I love how Johnson has portrayed Gul Dukat, DS9's chief villain with his powers. We got a glimpse of that in the TV series, but to see Dukat in his full glory, wielding his power like the worst kind of monster but doing it with a smug self satisfaction, in this series was a treat. The series ends with the status quo reset, and very few remembering what has occurred, but still leaving open the potential for Q to return. Tony Shasteen has done a great job on the art for this arc, and he pulls out all the stops this issue, especially in the brief combat between energy beings, as Q battles the Pah Wraiths; it's a great visual, especially as Q gives Dukat what he so rightly deserves. The last page is a sting, a perfect moment between Q and an old friend that encapsulates their relationship and just makes anyone who knows these characters smile. With the story complete, I can wholeheartedly recommend this story to fans of Star Trek in any of it's incarnations.

Star Wars #1
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: John Cassaday

I went into this debut issue of the new Marvel era of Star Wars comics looking at it in a couple of different ways. I looked at it as a comic that would be either the first Star Wars comic some people might read or the first they read in a long time. I looked at it as a longtime, hardcore Star Wars fan. In one respect I was very impressed. In the other I wasn't as impressed, but still enjoyed it. As an introductory comic to the new era, and to welcome people into this new era, I thought it was an unequivocal success. It has everything someone who just knows Star Wars from the movies would want: the entire classic cast, action, a touch of humor. Jason Aaron gets the voices of the classic characters spot on, and John Cassaday's art is gorgeous, capturing the looks of the characters and the feeling of the world. It's not weighed down by any heavy continuity, and is just an all around good comic. If you are brand new to Star Wars, this is great. As someone who has read every Star Wars comic ever published, this is a perfectly fine comic. It does all the things I said above, which makes it good., But it also doesn't break any new ground. I've read so many stories like this over the years I wasn't wowed by any innovations. I know, as someone who loves superhero comics, that's a funny thing to say, since they are built on not really innovating, and I also wasn't expecting any innovations, which is why I can still say I liked this comic. One moment that Aaron did work in that jumped out at me was having Luke liberate a group of slaves. Slavery was mentioned in the classic trilogy, but was never really drawn out. It became a more important element in the prequel trilogy, with Anakin being a former slave, and has featured in episodes of both The Clone Wars and Rebels. It being a major plot point here makes me wonder if the slave trade will be a part of the upcoming films as well. Nonetheless, this is a good comic and a solid introduction to the world of Star Wars, so if you're looking to dip your toe into the new Star Wars continuity, this is a great place to start. On an semi-related note, if you haven't tried Star Wars: Rebels yet, this is the week to do it. Last night's new episode "Idiot's Array,"had the crew of the Ghost, our heroes, meet a gambler and entrepreneur named Lando Calrissian, voiced by Billy Dee Williams, and it was everything you could hope for.

And from Dan Grote...

S.H.I.E.L.D. #2

Story by Mark Waid

Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado

So far, in the short time I’ve been doing reviews for The Matt Signal, this is the first No. 2 I’ve picked up and liked enough to write about. Mark Waid’s character work is great, and the done-in-one stories mean readers can pick it up whenever they darn well please.

This go-round, Agent Phil Coulson shares the spotlight with Agent Gemma Simmons, who we learn has a strained relationship with her father, a Roxxon bigwig, because the classified nature of her work requires her to lie to him about what she actually does for a living.

Simmons goes undercover as substitute teacher Ms. Steranko (GET IT?!) at Coles Academic High School in Jersey City, the stomping grounds of one Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, to stop a supervillain-tech smuggling ring.

I haven’t read much of Kamala’s interactions with the wider Marvel Universe outside her own book, but I loved her back-and-forth with Coulson and the way Waid pits the guy who keeps a journal of superhero fight scenarios against the girl who writes Avengers fanfic.

Warning: This issue is not for emetophobes. Artist Humberto Ramos (Amazing Spider-Man) draws multiple panels of teenagers throwing up pizza accidentally cooked using the blob of organic material that is Doughboy, a creation of Arnim Zola’s that dates to Jack Kirby’s run on Captain America in the ’70s. Hey, didn’t I just write about that? Now, if they could just bring that back walking pair of ears with the big eyeballs.

In the end, Simmons and Kamala bond over that classic do-gooder trope of having to keep your double life a secret from those you love, and how much it can hurt. But then Gemma gives Ms. M her business card, and it’s back to squee’ing for our newest favorite teen hero.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/9

Daredevil #5
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Chris Samnee

Five issues into the new volume of Daredevil from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, and we get the answers to why and how everyone believes Foggy Nelson is dead, and it makes for an excellent issue. Set in between the volumes, we see Matt being attacked by Frog Man and Foggy getting caught in the middle, proving the point that Matt was making to Foggy at the beginning of the issue, that the revelation of Matt's identity to the public puts Foggy in the crosshairs. Frog Man is not exactly an intimidating foe, and while Waid does a little here to make him more of a threat, he doesn't redeem him in the same way that he did the Spot at the beginning of the first volume. Waid also continues to use Hank Pym as a supporting character, and uses him better than pretty much any writer has in years, coming up with interesting ways to use Pym's shrinking technology. The plot is mostly to give Foggy an out that really proves the heroism inherent in Daredevil's best friend. Foggy has been fighting cancer for most of the last volume of Daredevil, and Waid has been clear that Foggy is a brave guy just for fighting with that, but in this issue, when presented with lethal danger, Foggy does what he has to; he tries to save people, even if it would cost him his life. Other writers have done things with Foggy, but that's mostly been in his roll as Matt's go-to guy. Waid has done a great job of letting Foggy stand on his own as a human being, and that has made Foggy a more interesting character. With this lingering question now answered, I hope Waid continues to develop Foggy, making him stand even higher in the ranks of comics's best supporting characters.

Grayson #1
Story: Tim Seeley & Tom King
Art: Mikel Janin

The new status quo for Dick Grayson begins with this issue, and I have to say, I'm pretty darn pleased with it. Writers Tim Seeley and Tom King jump us right into Dick Grayson on a mission for Spyral, the spy organization created by Grant Morrison for his run on Batman Incorporated. And while the stakes are clearly high, with a rogue nuclear powered metahuman, Russian agents, and a fight with the Midnighter, the thing that stands this book apart from so much of what DC is putting out right now is that it was fun. Not all ages fun, but Dick reads like he's having a good time while infiltrating Spyral and doing some good in the world. He isn't moaning and brooding. Dick Grayson has always been a character who quips his way through a fight, and so a lighter air is something that should be part of his book. I am of mixed feelings about him using a gun, but I have to say that he doesn't take a life, which is more important to me; Dick's parents weren't killed by guns, so he doesn't have the same hang-up Batman does about firearms, so I accept him being able to use one. As for his supporting cast, well I like this new Helena Bertinelli. She's smart and tough, just like her pre-New 52 counterpart. I am curious to see exactly how close she will be to that earlier version, a character I really liked. And as for Mister Minos, the seeming head of Spyral, this guy I don't trust. From employing the daughter of Otto Netz, war criminal Dr. Dedalus who worked for Spyral and Leviathan, to his mission to unmask all masked heroes, it's clear to see why Batman sent Dick undercover in Spyral. I look forward to future revelations about Minos, plus an eventual appearance by former Batwoman, Kathy Kane in her position as an agent of Spyral. I've stated before how much I love a standalone first issue, and this one does a great job of being a done in one story and still setting up plenty of plot threads to be answered later. If you've given up on the New 52 thanks to its unremitting darkness, you might want to try out this issue; it's something very different and worth your time.

Spider-Man 2099 #1
Story: Peter David
Art: Will Sliney

I'm a big fan of the original Spider-Man 2099 series, about a new hero taking up the mantle of Spider-Man in the distant future, and so when Dan Slott brought the character to and stranded him in the present during his run on Superior Spider-Man, I wanted to see more. And now, not only do I get a monthly dose of Miguel O'Hara (or Mike O'Mara as he's calling himself in the present), but ti's from original series writer, and the character's creator, Peter David. The issue matches the tone of the previous series, a tone familiar to fans os Peter David, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The humor is bit more dark and bitter, similar to David's Sir Apropos of Nothing novels, but that doesn't make it less funny. There is one cute little gag, about Miguel renting unit 2099 in his building, but the rest of the humor, between the blood on the floor of his new apartment, his boss/grandfather, Tiberius Stone, jumping into a panic room, and leaving Mike out to be killed by a time travelling cop sent to eliminate him, and his confrontation with Liz Allen, the head of Alechemax, are all dark. Miguel isn't as light a character as Peter Parker, which is easily established when he kills the guy sent after him. Now, this guy was technically a member of some organization that's job was to patrol the timeline and keep it clean, but as he had no problem with collateral damage, it didn't leave Miguel with much of a choice, but still, this isn't what Peter Parker would have done. It's nice that this book and Grayson came out in the same week, as the tone, of action and humor, seem akin to each other, and both serve as good introductions to their leads and the supporting cast and world they live in. I'd wager this isn't the last Miguel has seen of other time travellers after him, and as the end of the issue seems to be one of those self-fulfilling prophecies that time travel causes and that makes the reader's head ache, I'm looking forward to seeing where David takes this.

Star Trek #35
Story: Mike Johnson
Art: Tony Shashteen

I've always been more a Star Wars guy than a Star Trek guy. I like Star Trek fine, especially Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, but when it comes to the comic book/novel tie-ins, unless it's written by Peter David, I've never gotten too into it. But when I saw the solicitation for this issue, I knew I was going to pick it up, because it features one of my favorite characters in all Star Trek mythos. Yes, the crew of the new Enterprise, the one from the current movies, is meeting Q, the nigh-omnipotent consonant based being played by the brilliant John deLancie. After a stopover in the classic Trek timeline and a conversation with his old sparring partner, once-Captain-now-Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard, whose advice he characteristically ignores, Q pops over to the neo-Trek timeline to have a conversation with Kirk. It seems Q knows that something Kirk is going to do is going to lead to a cataclysm in that timeline, and he has taken some interest and wants to help avert this crisis. But in his Q-like way, instead of appearing and talking about it, he places the Enterprise in danger, kidnaps Kirk, and then sends the ship into the future (although it is unknown which timeline's future it is). Q is written dead on; I could hear de Lancie reading the dialogue. And the art is some of the most faithful to the actors I have ever seen, which is good, but I'm curious to see if keeping the look so spot on will be a hindrance for character as the series progresses. If it is, well, I'm along for the ride so I'll see. This is a good start to an arc, though, and I'm excited to see Kirk and crew meet some other characters from the other parts of the franchise.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/18

Bad Medicine #3
Story: Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Art: Christopher Mitten

Bad Medicine, Oni Press's new title that debuted with a free #1 back on Free Comic Book Day this year and features a sci-fi/horror/medical/procedural mash up, kicks off its second arc this month, and it's a really solid beginning. I'm a sucker for any kind of werewolf story, so when the issue opens with a cop shooting a werewolf, I knew I was going to be into this one. As the group of CDC investigators arrive at the site to look into another strange disease, we continue to get a feel for each of these characters; DeFilippis and Weir have always been writers who do tremendous character work, and this title is no exception. Dr. Randal Horne, the principal character of the ensemble, is a fascinating character, a man who has the early Doctor Strange/Doctor House lack of a bedside manner who is trying to learn it, and who might be haunted by the ghost of a patient he didn't save, or might just have a screw loose, while Detective Joley Huffman is a tough, no-nonsense NYPD detctive who has been sucked into this world of paranormal disease. And rounding out the team are doctors Alexander Teague and Ian Hogarth, who are opposite poles; Teague is the Scully of the team, always searching for the rational explanation, while Hogarth is the wacky, geeky, almost comic relief figure. The group balances well, and as the book gets its feet under itself, they grow into more vivid life. The idea of lycanthropy as pathogen is especially interesting, since I've seen similar takes on vampirism and Zombie outbreaks, but not really with werewolves, and I look forward to seeing how it develops. Bad Medicine is a book that reminds me of the best year's of The X-Files: science and the paranormal tossed together into a creepy stew, with interesting characters trying to find the truth.

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #3
Story: Scott and David Tipton & Tony Lee
Art: J.K. Woodward & The Sharp Brothers

While I may not be as big a Doctor Who or Star Trek fan as I am, say, a Batman or Star Wars fan, I couldn't resist picking up a crossover between the two longest running sci-fi franchises in the western world, especially when it was going to be the Next Generation crew in the spotlight, since that was the first series of the franchise I was exposed to. I have to say, it's been a ton of fun. While the first two issues were spent introducing the casts of the two series, and establishing the threat of a Borg/Cybermen alliance, this issue really starts seeing the plot move forward, and features a fun flashback of the original Enterprise meeting the Fourth Doctor. All of the characters, be it the Enterprise crew or the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, Amy and Rory, are written to sound exactly like they would in an episode of their respective shows, and while the stakes are duly high, the fate of the Federation and all known space to start with, the series never loses the sense of fun and adventure that is the cornerstone of both shows. As the mystery of the Doctor's memories deepen, and the Borg/Cybermen alliance looms, I am honestly just excited to see where the story goes. And that sense of wide-eyed excitement is something that makes me remember why the frontiers of space and time are always so fun to explore on the Enterprise and the TARDIS.

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #3
Story: W. Haden Blackman
Art: Agustin Alessio

The second issue of this series nearly made it into last month's reviews, but was just barely bumped out by Dawn of the Jedi, and as this issue is as good as the last, it had to make it this month. The series, set shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith, follows Darth Vader, Moff Trachta (a character from earlier Star Wars comic stories), and our narrator, a recently graduated Imperial Lieutenant named Laurita Tohm, on a desperate fight from Coruscant with a wounded Emperor Palpatine to escape a coup attempt. The story has all the hallmarks of a great Star Wars story: character, a sense of what has come before, and action. The story does a good job of getting into the heads of each of its three protagonists. There are interesting parallels between the three men, all of whom have been scarred and lost limbs; they are all broken men, and we see them all dealing with how broken they are, both physically and mentally. We see one scene of Vader in a fit of rage at the Jedi he once served with, and you can see Vader justifying the acts he perpetrated against them in his rage. Trachta gets revenge on the being who scarred him, and Tohm reveals the origin of the damage to his body. I don't want to reveal what the Ghost Prison of the title is, because it's a great moment and something I could discuss in a future review, but it continues to explore how the Jedi were compromised during the end of the era of the Republic, and how far they had strayed from their ideals. Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison is a great series for both the die hard and casual Star Wars fan to read, not being heavily beholden to continuity but still rewarding those of us who are long time readers.

The Unwritten #39
Story: Mike Carey
Art: Peter Gross

It's hard to review a single issue of one of these continuing Vertigo series, especially when they are forty issues into an epic that, while it has beginnings and endings to arcs, is pretty much one continuous story. The Unwritten has been one of my favorite Vertgo series since it launched, and the last arc ended act one of the series, and this issue continues "The Wound," the first arc of the second act. This arc has barely featured the regular cast of the series, with only Richie Savoy, lead character Tom Taylor's vampire friend, appearing for more than isolated panels. But the characters for this arc are still interesting. Australian detective Didge and Danny, former employee of the Cabal,  catch up to Lucas Filby, leader of the Church of Tommy, and find that he is more tied to the events of the series then suspected. The issue also features the origin of fan favorite character Pauly Bruckner, better known as the fowl mouthed anthropomorphic rabbit, Mr. Bun. And being that this is The Unwritten, there has to be that sense of magical realism that has existed in so few comics since the heyday of The Sandman, where the world of thugs, cults, and hitmen are set against appearances by magical prosthetic hands and prophecy spouting unicorns. Next issue looks to be the return of Tom Taylor to the book, and further revelations on the damage to the Leviathan, and a resolution to the events in Australia. I'm curious to see where Tom's journey goes from here, and what he will do when he learns about the damage his war with the Cabal caused. But for now, I just have to deal with a comic that ends with people charging off to stop the villain on unicornback. There are worse things.

Wonder Woman #11
Story: Brian Azzarello
Art: Cliff Chiang

Wonder Woman is the title that came out of the New 52 as probably the most changed title. Brian Azzarello was not a writer anyone expected to see on the title, and that has breathed a new life into the adventures of Diana. There have been controversies along the way, no doubt, but I have found the book to be an interesting combination of mythology and superheroics. This issue seems to be moving the plot that has driven the series until this point, the fight over the thrown of the dead Zeus and the fate of his illegitimate child with the mortal Zola, into its endgame. The gods are assembled, and Wonder Woman is facing them down. Azzarello has given Diana a strong voice, and understands her as a character; she is both a fierce warrior and a font of compassion. One of the things that has been spectacular about the post-New 52 Wonder Woman has also been the re-envisioning of the Greek gods by artist Cliff Chiang. This issue, both Demter and Artemis make their initial appearances, looking as stunning as the rest of the gods, with a plant based Earth mother in Demeter, and a silvery, moon like luminescence in the moon goddess Artemis. With Diana finally facing down Hera, who has plagued her since the beginning of the series, and Apollo, whose machinations are behind much of the chaos she has encountered, its time to see what the Amazon Princess and her friend's fates will be.