The Book Club

Comic Pull List Reviews: Avengers Academy 25, Demon Knights 6, & even more X-Men!

Avengers Academy #25

By: Christos Gage & Tom Grummett

What I love about Gage's writing is that he gets an awesome theme and idea going and he just runs with it. Every single issue in this series has been about one thing and one thing only: are these kids, tortured by the Green Goblin, going to end up Avengers or supervillains? It's a great premise, and even in a weaker issue, like this one, it keeps the overall feeling up.

The abrupt conclusion (a bit of a deus ex machina, emphasis on the machine part) to both major ongoing storylines of who killed Jocasta and Hybrid's taking over the campus was a bit of a let down. But Grummett's art was its useful slick and bright self, and his facial expressions were spot on in the more emotional moments. A good, not great, issue.

Demon Knights #6

By: Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, & Robson Rocha

Demon Knights started off as one of my favorite DCNu books, but it's starting to wear on me (like most of the DCNu, to be honest). I love Cornell as a writer, but these issues are seriously dragging. I literally thought for a second that I had accidentally bought an issue I already owned when I was reading through this one. And that, my friends, is never a good sign.

The art is fine, even with some fill-in pages, but this book needs to move more. We get a few character revelations, there's some OK character moments, but we're doing the exact same thing we were doing back at issue 1. And that was six months ago now. I understand deconstructed storytelling, but my god, this is just insane. Get it over with it, already!

New Mutants (Vol. III) #37

By: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, & David Lopez

What an insanely great done-in-one issue.

Here we got Magma, who promised Mephisto (a stand-in for Satan in the Marvel Universe) a date if he got her and her team home, making good on her deal with the devil. What results is one of the most human X-Men issues we've gotten in a long time, with the right balance of action, funny dialogue, and commentary on the human condition.

Magma, never a star player, shines here, while the hipster and somewhat fragile Mephisto steals the show. Each of the other New Mutants puts in a good moment or two, just adding to this issue's near perfection. Even if you aren't an X-Men fan, or even a comic book fan, this is one everybody should pick up.

And, oh, I hated Lopez's art when I first saw it. Now, it's absolutely perfect for this book's tone. Well done, all around.

Uncanny X-Men (Vol. II) #6

By: Kieron Gillen & Greg Land

I don't know what it says about Gillen's new take on the X-Men that I really don't like the villains he's chosen or his overall plot, but I love his characterization and dialogue so much that I think this is one of the best issues on the stands. Couple that with lackluster art by Greg Land, and we've got a conundrum.

There's surprising depth to Gillen's X-Men, and while his team is made up of the same X-Men we've seen in action for the past couple years, he's smart enough to give us new pairings, just to see what happens. Namor and Hope's interactions are hilarious, while Psylocke and Magneto create some great tension. Add to that some great dramamtic irony (Psylocke has brought in the X-Men to fix a mistake that she helped create that resulted in the death of a city, but she doesn't tell them that), and you've got one of the best written issues I saw this month.

Can we get Carlos Pacheco back now, please?

X-Men: Legacy #261

By: Christos Gage & David Baldeon

Another Gage issue and another winner. If one thing was lacking in the later run of Mike Carey's X-Men: Legacy, it was an overall reason for the series to exist. Gage has given us one: teachers trying to protect their students, which is slightly different from the samely set Wolverine and the X-Men, which is more about the kids. As a teacher myself, I appreciate the whole "teachers for students" thing, and it haarkens back to the X-Men's roots as a school.

The choice of Exodus as villain was also a good one, and gives a great cliffhanger to this issue. It also gives us a continuation of Carey's run, while also allowing for more insight into our current cast. I can't wait to see what Gage does with his characters, especially the Cannonball-Husk brother-sister dynamic that hasn't been explored after the death of their brother, Icarus, several years ago. I'm excited for what comes next, and in comic books, that's a win.

Great Quotes: Uncanny X-Men #1 by Kieron Gillen & Carlos Pacheco

From Marel's Uncanny X-Men #1 (2011) by Kieron Gillen, Carlos Pacheco, Cam Smith, Frank D'Armata, & Joe Caramagna

Note: The joke here is that the majority of these X-Men (pictured from far left in the second panel: Colossus, Magik, Danger, Magneto, Hope Summers, Storm, Cyclops, Emma Frost, & Namor) have, at one time or another, been supervillains or done supervillain-type things. Like trying to take over the world.

Another note: God, I love Gillen's Storm.

Dictionary of Faraway Places: Narnia

Name: Narnia

From: CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia

Location: Narnia exists in another world, connected to our Earth through various magical instruments, like a wardrobe, rings, and a painting. Naria's timeline runs faster than Earth's own. Narnia refers to both the other world as a whole and the country of Narnia.

Geographical Features: Narnia, as a world, is flat. The majority of the central landmass is taken up by the kingdoms of Narnia, Calormen, Telmar, and Archenland, as well as the lands of the giants to the north. There are also large systems of islands, especially in the Eastern Ocean, which leads to the mythical paradise of Aslan's Country or the True Narnia. Underneath Narnia lies the Underland, an expansive series of caverns.

Populace: Nearly everything within Narnia is alive: the stars, the sun, gemstones, and even a growing streetlamp (pictured at left with Lucy Pevensie). Narnia is populated by talking animals and mystical creatures of all sorts, and frequently receives visits from humans, called by Narnians Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve.

Ruler: Aslan

Known Former Rulers: King Tirian; King Erlian; King Rilian; Prince Caspian and Ramandu's Daughter; King Miraz; Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, and Lucy Pevensie; White Witch; King Frank and Queen Helen

Other Notable Residents: Aravis Tarkheena, Mr. Beaver, Mrs. Beaver, Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, Father Christmas, Cloudbirth, Cor, Coriakin, Lord Drinian, Emeth Tarkaan, Fledge, Glenstorm, Glimfeather, Lady of the Green Kirtle, Hwin, Jewel the Unicorn, Maugrim, Nikabrik, Puddleglum, Puzzle, Rabadash, Reepicheep, Shift, Tash, Father Time, Trumpkin, Tumnus

Imporant Places: Cair Paravel is a castle in Narnia and the royal seat, where the Pevensies ruled from. Two majors battles take place at the Fords of Beruna, wherein Prince Caspian takes the throne and the White Witch is defeated. The Lantern Waste, named for the lantern that grows there, is where Lucy Pevensie enters Narnia from the wardrobe. It is also where the final battle for Narnia takes place. Aslan's Country, or the True Narnia, lies beyond the Eastern Ocean.

History: Narnia was created by the great lion Aslan, when several humans and a horse from Earth and Jadis, a tyrant queen from a world called Charn, entered into a void from the Wood Between the Worlds. Aslan breathes life into Narnia and sings its creatures into existence. He also gives several animals the power of speech. Aslan then chooses one of the humans, a cabbie named Frank to rule alongside his human wife, Helen, as the first king and queen of Narnia.

Jadis, angry at not being able to control this new world, runs away, until she finds an apple tree that transforms her. Already physically strong and magically gifted, Jadis is now immortal. After nearly a 1000 years, Jadis becomes the White Witch and conquers all of Narnia. Fearful of a prophecy stating that a human child would defeat her, she drives the humans from Narnia. The White Witch then encases all of Narnia in an neverending winter for the next 100 years.

The Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) enter Narnia through a mystical wardrobe, which was created from Narnian wood. With the help of the returned Aslan, who also sacrifices himself for the children and is reborn, they defeat and kill the White Witch, ending winter. They rule Narnia as Kings and Queens.

The Pevensies eventually return to Earth and are de-aged, and eventually, Narnia is conquered by their human neighbors, the Telmarines. Knowledge of Aslan is buried until Prince Caspian X learns of the true Narnian history. With the help of Lucy and Edmund, along with their cousin Eustace, Caspian takes the throne from his uncle and restores Narnia to its beauty.

Caspian then explored the Eastern Ocean, meeting his future wife Ramandu's Daughter, and returns to Narnia to rule. Ramandu's Daughter is murdered by the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the Lady kidnaps their son and heir Rilian. Rilian is eventually freed by Eustace and his friend Jill Pole, and his line continues to rule Narnia until its last days.

At the end of Narnia's existence, a talking ape named Shift convinces many Narnians of Aslan's return, by dressing up the donkey Puzzle as the great lion, allowing the conquering Calormen army to capture much of Narnia. The true Aslan returns once more, and takes with him the faithful to the True Narnia beyond the Eastern Ocean, including the majority of the human travelers to Narnia. Narnia, though, is gone.

Other Versions: Narnia has appeared in several adaptions, most notably a cartoon and movie series. Susan Pevensie's fate was the subject of a Neil Gaiman short story, and other references to Narnia have appeared in many fantasy and comic book tales.

Works Featuring Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Book Review: Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Title: Anathem

Author: Neal Stephenson

Publisher: William Morrow (2008)

Genre: Science Fiction

Sub-Genres: Adventure, Alternate Worlds, Math, Novel of Ideas, Philosophy, Space Exploration

Plot Summary: On another world, in the cloistered and shielded from the world Math, Fraa Erasmas, nicknamed Raz, learns about and debates the nature existence with his teacher Orolo and his friends Lio, Arsibalt, and Jesry. When Orolo discovers something hidden in the light of the sun, their whole world changes, putting Raz on the path to whole new discoveries, finding love in unexpected places, traveling the word with his sister Cord, and seeing up close just what the power of the mind can do.

What I Liked: What a smart book.

And I'm not talking clever smart. I'm talking way over the top, philosophical and science-based discussions that come down from Plato smart. Stephenson combines pages-long discussion on quantum mechanics with adventures in space, and manages to make both interesting. That's a feat in and of itself.

Raz and his cadre of cohorts are fun, injecting humor into the dialogues when needed, and Raz himself is a worthy protaganist (but a tad dull). There are some plot surprises along the way, with enough romance and death to keep the story moving.

Also strong is Stephenson's manipulation of language. While it takes some getting used to, Stephenson develops a whole in-text vocabulary for his other world (like the title, a combination of anathema and anthem) that helps create a strong setting and feeling like we're really in another world, one far different than our own.

You walk away from this book feeling you've just read something grand. In today's hyper-fast techno-world, I think that's something we need more of. It's an emotional quirk that movies and TV shows simply can't produce in the same way.

What I Didn't Like: Sometimes, though, the characters and plot were sacrificed on the alter of smart and grand. The plot was big and expansive, but it wasn't big enough to last for as long as it did (this is a long one, folks). You'd think space adventure and alternate worlds would be exciting, but somehow, those moments of some of the dullest in the book.

Also, the plot sometimes takes the easy way out. The romance, in particular, feels false and out of place. There's no passion or heat to it, despite the story being told in the first person perspective.

And while we get a variety of characters, they fall easily into categories (the teacher, the girlfriend, the girlfriend's friend, the popular one, the crazy one, the studious one) that none of the characters ever break out of. They're archetypal but there's enough pages there to make them memorable, as well.

Similar Works: Other Neal Stephenson Works: Reamde: A Novel, Cryptonomicon, and Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle No. 1).

Other Recent Locus Award Winners: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, and Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge.

Other Smart Scifi: Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, and Isaac Asimov's Foundation.

Buy It Here!: Anathem

Last Thought: An insanely bright and thought-provoking book whose story is bogged down by just how smart it is.

Great Quotes: Hate Poem by Julie Sheehan

 

"The blue-green jewel of sock lint I’m digging from under my third toenail, left foot, hates you.
The history of this keychain hates you.
My sigh in the background as you explain relational databases hates you.
The goldfish of my genius hates you.
My aorta hates you. Also my ancestors.

A closed window is both a closed window and an obvious symbol of how I hate you."

An excerpt of Hate Poem by Julie Sheehan

Character Analysis: Prim Everdeen, The Hunger Games' Perfect Plot Device

Character: Primrose Everdeen

Nickname: Prim

From: The Hunger Games trilogy

First Appearance: The Hunger Games

Last Appearance: Mockingjay

Created by: Suzanne Collins

Portrayed in Film by: Willow Shields (2012 - pictured)

Character History: Prim is from an alternate future Earth, where the Americas have been renamed Panem. Somewhere in the current Appalachian Mountains is District 12, a coal-mining center where Prim was born, along with her older sister Katniss. Their father dies in a mining accident.

Each year, the Capitol of Panem holds the Hunger Games, where a boy and girl from each of the twelve districts are chosen to compete in a gladiator-style, televised competition, where the only winner is the sole survivor. Prim, in her first year eligible, age twelve, is chosen, but Katniss volunteers to take her place.

Prim remains in District 12 with their mother, a skilled but depressed healer, and is protected by Gale, Katniss' close friend and probable future husband. Katniss, along with Peeta, the boy chosen that year, manage to survive the games, and Prim moves with her family into the mansion given to the winners.

When both Katniss and Peeta are forced back into the Games the next year, Prim again remains behind. And when Katniss and Peeta manage to set off a revolution during the Games, in which the districts rebel against the Capitol, Prim escapes the near immediate desctruction of District 12 with her mother.

They are rescued, along with Gale and his family, by the poeple of the mysterious District 13, a former nuclear site that was allowed to live on its own after the last rebellion. Prim trains as a medic, in order to help the cause, and is eventually reunited with the rescued Katniss.

Prim becomes part of the rebellion and is part of the final attack on the Capitol, serving as a field medic. She is killed during battle, by bombs that may have been set off by the rebels themselves in order to galvanize the districts against the Capitol. Katniss kills the leader of the rebels in response, setting in motion the rest of Katniss' life and the future of Panem.

Personality: Prim, before being chosen for the Games, is a smart and sweet young girl. She is great with animals, including a goat and a fiesty old cat. After Katniss's victory, Prim dedicates herself to the medical arts and is quite gifted. During the revolution, she wants to do her part, just like her sister.

Archetypes: Prim is the Little Sister, a slightly annoying, usually cute character that often causes problems for the main character. She is also a Plot Device, for most of her actions in the story cause plot progression and appears very little elsewhere in the story. In this regard, she is also the Sacrifice, a character designed with the sole purpose of dying to propel the story.

Other Versions: It is known that in the upcoming movie version of The Hunger Games, it will be Prim who gives Katniss the mockingjay pin that becomes the symbol of the revolution, not Katniss' friend Madge, who does not appear in the movie.

Main Anaylsis: A character as plot device is a perfectly common storytelling trick, wherein one character becomes responsible for the majority of the book's forward momentum.

Prim is the plot device that both begins and ends the trilogy. In The Hunger Games, she becomes the catalyst for the story itself: she is chosen for the Games, but her sister Katniss, our main character and narrator, takes her place by volunteering. While we see very little of Prim for the rest of the book, she is constantly there.

Katniss is fighting for Prim, to return home and protect her from the world and the fear of starving to death, as those in District 12 are always hungry. Katniss's doomed ally Rue, another young girl, just twelve, is a Prim stand-in inside the Games, allowing for Katniss to claim violence on those who would hurt her sister.

In Mockingjay, Prim's death, which may very well have been planned by the rebels but Katniss never knows for sure, catapults the end of the series. Her death immediately leads to Katniss assassinating rebel leader President Coin, which in turn leaves open the door for a just ruler - the plot's resolution. Also, since Gale (one corner of the Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle) designed the bomb that killed Prim, Katniss can no longer look at Gale in a romantic way. In this regard, Prim's death ends both major aspects of the series: the romance and the rebellion.

In turns of traditional structure, Prim represents both the inciting incident and the climax. Prim being chosen for the Games is the inciting incident, the part of the plot that sets up the conflict. It is the Game that causes Katniss to become the symbol of rebellion and reveals Peeta's love for her (it's hinted at that she would have never had known otherwise). Prim indirectly creates both storylines.

And Prim's death is the climax of the story, because it essentially causes the rebellion to end and forces Katniss to choose Peeta over Gale. The climax of a story is the moment in which the door slams shut and no more choices can be made - Prim's death is the beginning of that climax, which ends with Coin's death and the book's denouement.

In this way, Prim is the perfect plot device. She has few characteristics that are her own, beyond being a sweet girl with some medical skill, but she is essential to this series for the things that happen to her. Like Dumbledore before her, the construction of the series almost makes it necessary for Prim to die. It is only in her sacrifice that the storylines can be resolved, and Katniss's own fate be decided.

Similar Characters: Other Characters as Plot Device Analysis: Jane Eyre's Bertha.

Perky Little Sisters: Lucy Pevensie from CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Ramona Quimby from Beverly Cleary's Beezus and Ramona, and Lydia Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Characters Killed to Advance the Plot: Dumbledore from JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Nightcrawler in Marvel's X-Men: Second Coming, and Catherine in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

Works with Prim Everdeen: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.

Comic Pull List Reviews: Batwoman 6, Stormwatch 6, & more X-Men

Batwoman #6

By: JH Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, & Amy Reeder

This is Reeder's first issue as rotating artist, and while she simply can't match the beauty of Williams' pages, this issue is a strong debut. Reeder even gives a visual link to Williams' pages by ultilizing his nontraditional and expressive paneling. Reeder's pages look more typical superhero, but this is still recognizable as an issue of Batwoman.

But as far as the story goes, this issue is a non-starter. There are odd time jumps, so that the story is more confusing then anything. And worse of all, no major plot developments happen. For a storyline that's pretty much in it's sixth issue already, this is a problem. There's glacial pacing, and then there's straight up bad pacing. This is leaning towards the latter. I'm still liking it overall, but I need something to actually happen next issue.

Stormwatch #6

By: Paul Cornell & Miguel Sepulveda

This is Cornell's last issue, a victim of the immense creator shuffling already happening to DC's reboot. And I hate to say it, but this is also Cornell's best issue. The Stormwatch team's reason for being feels stronger here, and the characters have found their voices. Previous confusions have been explained, and new mysteries were added. There's some great flirting between Midnighter and Apollo, and the addition of a new character seems like it's going to be fun.

Sometimes it's really too bad to see a creator finally get it right and then lose the book to someone else. Let's hope the next writer can pick up where we left off and not start back at the drawing board. Also, does anybody know if the art is changing too or just the writer? Sepulveda's art has been solid, but not exceptional, for this series, with some great scifi moments and design.

Wolverine and the X-Men #5

By: Jason Aaron & Nick Bradshaw

Like Stormwatch, the strength here is in the characters. Each of Aaron's characters in this book have unique voices and perspectives, which is surprising given the size of the cast. And while the cast isn't what I would want (I'm sorely missing the New X-Men kids), Idie, Broo, and Genesis are providing for some great - and actually teenager-like - moments.

Also, I love the bright beautiful colors of this series. Bradshaw's art is slick, and Aaron plays to his strengths with the insane plot: we see aliens and the inside of a mutant DNA in this issue alone. An excellent addition to the X-Men line.

X-Factor #231

By: Peter David & Emanuela Lupacchino

From the great new addition to the old standard for X-cellence (pun!), David and Lupacchino give us another solid entry in this month's X-Factor. David tends to do his best work when given freedom, and we get a dimension-jumping Madrox here that fondly reminds me of the early days of Exiles. We're in for a fun ride with some great twists: Iron Man sentinels and a Captain America Deathlok.

But, in the end, this issue feels a bit like filler. It's well-drawn and colored, with some great dialogue, but we don't get any answers here, and the mystery barely even deepens. If this had been paired with more scenes from the rest of the team back home, I think we might have had a real winner, instead of an honorable mention.

X-Men (Vol. II) #24

By: Victor Gischler & Al Barrionuevo

I had dropped this title after only a few issues (despite a fondness for Jubilee that stems from the 90's X-Men cartoons) and came back to it after Schism. I love the team Gischler has chosen for his X-Men: Storm, Jubilee, Warpath, Domino, Colossus, and Psylocke are a great mix, but oddly, there's simply no character movement here.

Jubilee, now a vampire, meets up with other "good" vampires, the teased by Marvel months ago Forgiven. Unfortunately, for what was supposed to be the next big thing, the Forgiven kind of suck. Their designs are lackluster, and any charactization is skin-deep at best. You know it's bad when you have an entire issue to introduce a team of new characters, and by the end of it, you can't even remember their names. This one is a mess, folks. I'd skip it in favor of the better X-titles above.

Great Quotes: The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross

 

"Instead of writing the music of his imagination, he wanted to transcribe the very noise of nature. He thought he could hear chords in the murmurs of the forests and the lapping of the lakes; he once baffled a group of a Finnish students by giving a lecture on the overtone series of a meadow."

Alex Ross in The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,

writing about composer Jean Sibelius 

Book Review: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Book 1 of the Night Angels Trilogy)

Title: The Way of Shadows

Series: The Night Angels Trilogy (Book 1 of 3)

Author: Brent Weeks

Publisher: Orbit (2008)

Genre: Fantasy

Sub-Genres: Adventure, Coming of Age, Medieval Fantasy, Redemption, Spy Games, Other Worlds

Plot Summary: Azoth, a young boy in the slums of Cenaria City, is a member of a youth gang, led the villainous Rat. To save his friends Jarl and Doll Girl from Rat's perverse and violent desires, Azoth decides to free himself from the gang by becoming a wetboy: an assassin gifted with magic. But to do so, Azoth mustconvince the best wetboy of all, Durzo Blint, to train him, if Blint doesn't him first.

What I Liked: Fantasy novels, despite not being set in this world, still tend to many medieval Europe qualities, like notions of chivalry and a very Christian-heavy morality. This could be due to two things: 1) the writers are of a monotheistic community themselves or 2) That's the way the original fantasy masters (Tolkien and CS Lewis) did it.

Weeks disposes of the Christian morality in its entirety in The Way of Shadows, and it's a breath of fresh air for the fantasy genre. The main character Azoth (eventually taking the name Kyler Stern for most of the novel) wants freedom from poverty but can only find it through killing - a choice he deems acceptable and the reader freely accepts this idea, even though the idea that killing is always wrong has been burned into our society's collective subconscious.

It's a feat in great characterization. And Azoth is not the only character who does this. Each of Weeks' characters have their own morale code and they push the plot along with it. Weeks manages to say a bit about the nature of humanity while keeping up the pace on a great adventure story, with a bit of political intrigue thrown in. There's enough social commentary here to elevate the book into something more than a by-the-numbers fantasy novel.

What I Didn't Like: There's a lot of characters running around, narrating this story, and sometimes the effect is more jarring then it should be. It's no good if the reader can't remember who the narrator is supposed to be. Also, the book had a bit of that rather pervasive myth that being raped as a child creates a gay man or woman, but it feels like Weeks didn't do it on purpose. It still just grates on the nerves, though.

Similar Works: Other Night Angel Books: Shadow's Edge  (Book 2) and Beyond the Shadows (Book 3).

Another Brent Weeks Work: The Black Prism

More Fantastical Assassins: Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin, Silk and Velvet in The Belgariad, and Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1).

Buy It Here!: The Way of Shadows

Last Thought: You know a book is good when you're definitely against killing, but you can't help but root for an assassin.