Monthly Archives: April 2012

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch – May edition

Posted on by

This month is littered with the return of several cult favorites including Bubba Ho-Tep, The Omega Man, Sneakers, and Starship Troopers. The underwhelming selection of new stuff feature Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,Open Season 3, and Shark Night.

* streaming for the first time via Netflix.

Premiering May 1:
Adaptation
The Addams Family (1991)
Addams Family Values
*Against the Dark
The Borrowers (1997)
Bubba Ho-Tep If you’ve not seen this Elvis vs mummy cult classic (based on the Joe R. Lansdale story), stop what you are doing and watch it now! My review
*The Caller (2011)
*Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Dracula III: Legacy
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
*Griff the Invisible
Groundhog Day
Hannibal (2001)
*High Anxiety
Insomnia (2002)
Karate Kid (1984)
Meet Joe Black
*Not the Messiah The Netflix description: “Spamalot” creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez penned this one-night-only musical tribute to Monty Python’s Life of Brian, an impertinent oratorio performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2009 and captured here in all its glory.
The Omega Man
*Open Season 3
Robin Hood (1991)
Sneakers
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Stuart Little
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
The Thirteenth Floor
Universal Soldier: The Return
The Wiz

Premiering May 2:
*Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)
*Shark Night

Premiering May 8:
*A Darker Reality
*Giallo
*Playing House (2010)

Premiering May 10:
*G.I. Joe: Season 2.0 (1986)

Premiering May 12:
*Grimm’s Snow White

Premiering May 14:
Scar (2007)

Premiering May 15:
Ghost Adventures (2007)
*Junkyard Dog
Land of the Dead
*Man on a Mission: Richard Garriott’s Road to the Stars

Premiering May 19:
*Splintered

Premiering May 23:
*Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire

Premiering May 28:
*Beast Wars: Transformers

Premiering May 31:
*Killer Inside Me Based on the legendary Jim Thompson novel

Titles expiring soon

Expiring May 1:
Appleseed
Bloodlock
Clannad
Creep (2004)
Cyborg Cop
Dark Justice (2004)
Dragon Tiger Gate
Fallen (1998)
Frightworld
Full Contact (Xia dao Gao Fei) (1992)
The Good Witch
Gothika
Kung Fu Fighter
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette
Lethal Weapon
Life Beyond Earth The show’s host Timothy Ferris wrote one of my favorite science books Coming of Age in the Milky Way. Some good reading. You should check it out.
The Lodge (2008)
Look Who’s Talking Too
The Manitou
MARS Dead or Alive: Nova
Misery (1990)
Orca: The Killer Whale
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Popotan
Practical Magic
Premonition[i] ([i]Yogen) (2004)
Repo Man
Reservoir Dogs
The Resident (2011)
Resurrection (1980)
Rick Sebak: A Cemetery Special
Shaolin vs. Evil Dead
Shaolin vs. Evil Dead: Ultimate Power
Shark Hunter (2001) Before you shark lovers get all excited, this one stars Antonio Sabato Jr. Never a good sign.
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th
Species
Species II
Species III
Titan A.E.
Triangle (2009)
Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie Documentary narrated by William Shatner!
Vampire Journals
Vampiro
Welcome to Mars: Nova

Expiring May 7:
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Absolutely brilliant thriller with Robert Shaw leading a gang who takes a subway car hostage. They demand $1 million dollars for the safe release of the passengers. Walter Matthau plays the transit cop who challenges them. Eminently re-watchable with excellent acting, direction, and script. So stop reading and watch it already.

Expiring May 9:
Double Dragon (1993)
Imagination (2007)
Sherlock Who would have imagined that one of the best visions of Doyle’s classc character would be a 21st century re-interpretation? This BBC series receives my highest recommendation and is a must watch for Holmes fans.
Street Sharks

Expiring May 12:
Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
The Third Man

Expiring May 15:
Beyblade: Metal Fusion[
Iron Man: Armored Adventures
Jason and the Argonauts (1999)
Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean

Expiring May 29:
Christmas Time in South Park
South Park: The Cult of Cartman
South Park The Hits: Volume 1
South Park Spook-Tacular!
South Park: A Very Buttery Collection

The above is accurate as of April 29. As with all things streaming, the info is in constant flux. YMMV.

Content courtesy of FeedFliks and Instantwatcher.

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch – May edition was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Revisiting the Uncanny Un-Collectibles

Posted on by

In Fall 2010, twenty-eight of my friends and I compiled a list for RevSF of 52 comic series that deserved to be collected, the Uncanny Un-Collectibles: Missing Comic Book Trades. With the release of Showcase Presents: The Spectre (see below), I decided to revisit the six part bitchfest and see what else has been collected.

Sugar and Spike Archives Volume 1

Published September 14, 2011

Paul O. Miles wrote:

Quote:
Even more than Scribbly, Mayer was known for Sugar and Spike, his long running kids series for DC Comics. Sugar and Spike are next door neighbor babies, who understand each other’s gibberish and get into mischief. Mayer simplified his style for a younger audience, cutting down the ideas per panel in a way that immediately reminds you of Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace. The thing about Sugar and Spike or other long running kid’s comics such as Little Lulu is there are rarely individual stories that tower over the rest and demand reprinting. Instead, you hope to have as much reprinted as possible so you can experience the cartoonist’s art over a wide range of work.

There are a few Sugar and Spikes reprinted in The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, but it really cries out for a Showcase Presents edition. DC over the years has done a good job of digging in its crates. Hopefully, at some point, they’ll make Mayer widely available again. They owe him.

Showcase Presents: The Spectre
Collects SHOWCASE #60, 61 and 64, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #72, 75, 116, 180 and 199, THE SPECTRE #1-10, ADVENTURE COMICS #431-440, DC COMICS PRESENTS #29 and GHOSTS #97-99.

Published April 25, 2012

Scott A. Cupp wrote:

Quote:
The Golden Age Spectre stories have been collected in a wonderful collection. However, in the mid-1960s DC was riding on the success of the Earth-2 stories in The Flash and Justice League of America and they decided to revive the Spectre with Murphy Anderson and Neal Adams as the primary artists. The series lasted just thirteen issues (three in Showcase and ten in The Spectre) but they were wonderfully cosmic and supernatural in nature unlike the original More Fun run.

Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron Vol. 1

Published April 18, 2012

Joe Crowe wrote:

Quote:
DC’s Justice Society of America has been on a roll. Nearly all of their series are in trades. The Golden Age ones are in hardback archive editions. The regular series comes out in trades every few months. The All-Star Squadron is better than all of them.

In All-Star Squadron, Roy Thomas mixed World War II history with superhero continuity, and got himself a stew going. The stories made modern-age superheroes out of silly old Golden Age knock-offs. Only the Legion of Superheroes came close to its sheer bulk of membership. In one issue, a double page spread still did not contain every member. I stared at those pages, stirred with geeky wonder, at dozens of heroes drawn by Jerry Ordway into tiny panels.

It raised a generation of continuity nerds. That’s why some fans today fret when a story contradicts something that happened last month. Roy Thomas spent most of the stories in All-Star Squadron fixing continuity stuff that bothered him. Besides all that, the stories were white-bread, grade-A superhero goodness.

In the early 1980s, All Star Squadron was a welcome vacation from nearly every other comic, where heroes tried to find themselves or had human problems. The All-Stars had problems, too. But then they beat up super-Nazis.

The JSA collection needs to be complete. Do it for the super-Nazis.

The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse
Collects LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #297-313 and ANNUAL #2-3.

Published October 19, 2011

Paul Benjamin wrote:

Quote:
Now that Paul Levitz has been reunited with the Legion of Super-Heroes, it’s about time some of his greatest work returned to store shelves. The DC Archive Editions include Levitz’s early Legion stories but there’s a noticeable gap in DC’s collections: a long run by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen beginning with the Great Darkness Saga. While that seminal storyline of the Legion vs. Darkseid has been collected, the rest of their run is only available to folks willing to delve into dusty longboxes.

These are some incredible stories, from the Legion Espionage Squad’s infiltration of the Khund home world to a tale of the Green Lantern Corps in the 30th century that could have important links to recent events in Green Lantern and Legion of Super-Heroes. The end of the Levitz/Giffen run is collected in Legion of Super-Heroes: An Eye for an Eye.

But those stories in the middle were so strong that Geoff Johns brought them back into DC continuity with Legion of Three Worlds.

Now that Levitz is back in charge of his favorite characters, it’s time to treat fans to the stories that inspire the latest tales. Long live Levitz and Giffen! Long live the Legion!

Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery

Published April 4, 2012

Brandon Zuern wrote:

Quote:
Flex Mentallo, Grant Morrison’s four-issue limited series about a musclebound superhero searching for other champions of justice, might not be for you. It’s too psychedelic for a mainstream audience, yet too much in love with truth, justice, and the American Way for the weirdos and freaks. It’s drug-fueled science fiction fantasy is more than the straight-laces can handle, but has a strangely sweet optimism that cynics won’t get.

But if you simply love comic books, Flex Mentallo is the mondo bizarro comics commentary you’ve been looking for.

It’s a love letter to superhero ideals laced with LSD. It’s a beautiful like an explosion, thanks to the stunning art of Frank Quitely. But because of the lead character’s similarity in look and origin to bodybuilder-turned-pitchman Charles Atlas, we may never see a collection of this amazing series. Though DC Comics stood up to the lawsuit-version of getting sand kicked in their face by Charles Atlas Co., they’ve hesitated to reprint the story. Here’s hoping Flex Mentallo uses his reality-changing mastery of Muscle Mystery to flex us up a trade paperback! It could happen, because Flex Mentallo is proof that superheroes are real.

DC Comics Presents: Chase #1
Collects only CHASE #6-8.

Published November 10, 2010

Chase
Collects CHASE #1-9 and #1,000,000, BATMAN #550, #1-9, DC UNIVERSE SECRET FILES #1, SECRET FILES GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE 2000 #31, SUPERMAN: OUR WORLDS AT WAR SECRET FILES #1, JSA SECRET FILES #2, THE FLASH SECRET FILES #3, THE JOKER: LAST LAUGH SECRET FILES #1, BATGIRL SECRET FILES #1 and HAWKMAN SECRET FILES #1.

Published December 28, 2011

Wayne Beamer wrote:

Quote:
What 99 percent of us know about Chase is nothing, unfortunately. It was a blip of a 10-issue series last published in 1999 about Cameron Chase, a female governmental operative with the Department of Extranormal Operations who had a deep-seated hatred of most superbeings, good and bad. No great loss, right? Hardly.

Chase marked the beginning of the artistic partnership of J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, whose collaboration with Alan Moore on Promethea, a modern-day mashup of Wonder Woman and Fawcett’s Captain Marvel memes, was among a handful of the best and most entertaining and beautiful superhero comics published anywhere by anybody over the past decade. And award-winning too.

Since the Eisner-winning debut of Batwoman by Williams III and Greg Rucka in Detective Comics now promoted (to her own series coming this November), the scant few fans of Chase and those who want to be (me) have been asking two questions:

1. When will DC finally collect it? 2. When will Chase return?

If the overt hints on Williams III’s web site are any inkling, we may see a Chase reappearance in the pages of Batwoman next year. What that could lead to afterward is anyone’s guess. Fingers and toes are crossed daily. Feel free to join the movement.

Scheduled for the first half of 2012 but not yet released collections include Showcase Presents volumes featuring Rip Hunter and Sea Devils.

It’s not surprising that these are all DC books. Of the 52 titles mentioned, 26 of them were from DC (Marvel was a distant second with 5).

Revisiting the Uncanny Un-Collectibles was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

The Bronx Kill (2009)

Posted on by

 

Quote:
It’s like all the pain just gets handed on and on, ain’t it.

 

This original graphic novel comes from the short-lived Vertigo Crime imprint. It was written by the veteran British writer, Peter Milligan, and the black and white art was by James Romberger.

The derelict area around the Bronx Kill, a narrow strait in New York, holds a grim fascination for writer Martin Keane as it was the scene of his great-grandfather’s murder. As Martin struggles to write his third novel, his mysterious family history is echoed in the present when his wife leaves their apartment and disappears just like his grandmother did many years before abandoning his father as a baby. Martin is suspected of foul play, and murder when his wife’s body appears, and must find answers to the mystery in the events of the past.

A pretty good modern noir story from Milligan. He uses a lot of tropes – history repeating, lessons of the past not learned, mirroring of events in the draft pages of Martin’s latest novel – but he combines them well to produce a gripping narrative. The art by Romberger is suitably dark when it needs to be and has an indie sensibility that is refreshing from the books I normally read. Well worth a read for fans of crime stories.

Vertigo Resurrected (December 2010)

Posted on by

 

Quote:
You’re all looking for something to blame when you should be looking out the window.

 

This comic is an collection of short stories from various Vertigo titles including Strange Adventures, Weird War Tales and Flinch. However, the reason I picked it up is that it features a previously unpublished Hellblazer story from the Warren Ellis run on the character.

The story, Shoot was written round about the time of the Columbine High School tragedy and was felt, probably rightly that it was too sensitive a story to print at that time. However, it is an excellent story featuring Constantine at the fringes of a series of pupil-pupil shootings across America. The story has John railing against the congressional advisor as the demons the children face are ones created by society rather than the Hellish forces that he is comfortable with.

This is story is the kind of horror that really scares me. Never mind scientists shooting corpses for some perverse pleasure or people sodomising the decayed carcasses of dogs (both of which were featured in the last comic I read), what scares me is the horror that could be all too real. So while I love the supernatural horror genre the ones that truly get to me are films like slasher movies where there is no supernatural element only the cruelty of fellow humans. [EDIT: I found a blog entry from Warren Ellis on the release of this story today (23/4/12). He certainly succeeded in his intention with me.]

The other stories feature a heavyweight roster of writers and artists from Vertigo past and present. They include Brian Bolland, Brian Azzarello, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Garth Ennis, Peter Milligan, Eduardo Risso and Bill Willingham. These stories are of variable interest as they are playing second fiddle to the Constantine one but are mostly entertaining. One of the best features art by Bernie Wrightson in a classic horror tale. It has been a while since I have read any stories featuring Wrightson art and has made me move Roots of the Swamp Thing up in my to-read pile. Bill Willingham’s story, which he wrote and drew, is a good one featuring a nice flip on the trope of the enraged villagers of classic horror movies.

Vertigo Resurrected: Hellblazer (February 2011)

Posted on by

 

Quote:
“… if I go home without you, your lovely wife’s gonna cut my bollocks off …”

“Thank Christ. How do we get out then?”

“Out? How the bloody hell do I know?”

 

This comic is one of a series from Vertigo collecting material that has never otherwise been reprinted. This one features 2 two-part stories from John Constantine, Hellblazer.

The first comes from the middle of the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon run of the early nineties and consists of issues 57 and 58. When Chas and John stumble across some modern day grave robbers at Chas’ uncle’s funeral, John agrees to help Chas get to the bottom of the matter. They soon find themselves in a fortified industrial unit in the middle of nowhere where the stolen bodies are being used as test subjects for needless ballistic tests.

This is Ennis at his prime and the humour is dark matter black even for him. The art is typical Steve Dillon and I love it. Reading this just makes me want to do that Hellblazer re-read that I have been promising myself for some time – along with the Sandman, Zenith, The Shadow and a host of others I don’t have time for just now. Excellent stuff.

The second story is by writer Jason Aaron (currently writing Scalped) and artist Sean Murphy (who also drew the Hellblazer: City of Demons mini-series) and collects issues 245 and 246 from near the end of the Andy Diggle run. The story sees a bunch of documentary makers come to Newcastle to make a film about Constantine’s old punk band, Mucous Membrane. However, the site they visit is the scene of demonic ritual that put Constantine in the Ravenscar Asylum. Unfortunately for the film makers, the shade of the demon is still lingering on the site and once disturbed messes with their heads.

I bought this comic for this story as it the only one I don’t have between my comics and book collections. It is quite a good story encapsulating as it does a piece of iconic Constantine back story for readers that may not be familiar the character’s full history. I like Murphy’s art and would be happy to see him have an extended spell with the book and character.

Comics received 4/16/12 Dark Horse edition Part I

Posted on by

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 1
by Charles Biro, Woody Hamilton, Harry Lucey, Carl Hubbell, Bob Montana, George Tuska, Dick Wood, Dick Briefer, Frank Giacoia, Bob Wood, Dan Barry, and others
Cover by Charles Biro

Promo copy:

Uncut and uncensored, the infamous precode Crime Does Not Pay comics are finally collected into a series of archival hardcovers! With brutal, realistic tales focusing on vile criminals, Crime Does Not Pay was one of the most popular comics of the 1940s. The series was a favorite target of Dr. Fredric Wertham and other censors and is partially responsible for the creation of the stifling Comics Code Authority. Now revered and mythic, this collection of the first four hard-to-find Crime Does Not Pay comics features a fine roster of Golden Age creators and a new introduction by Matt Fraction (Iron Man, Casanova)!

Angel & Faith #5
Written by Christos Gage
Art by Phil Noto
Cover by Rebekah Isaacs

Promo copy:

It’s a dark and foggy night in London, and Angel and Faith are about to encounter a most unexpected visitor. Superceleb vampire Harmony Kendall returns! When a stalker threatens to expose one of Harm’s misdeeds, she solicits the help of wayward heroes Angel and Faith. With her little pups, her friend Clem, and her Hollywood entourage by her side, Harmony is taking the UK by storm!
* Harmony Kendall comes to London!
* Guest artist Phil Noto!

The Strain #2
Story by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Script by David Lapham
Art by Mike Huddleston

Promo copy:

As an eclipse covers New York City in midday darkness, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team from the Centers for Disease Control struggle to find an explanation for what happened to Flight 753. But when the symptoms don’t add up to chemical warfare, and bizarre circumstances unexplained by modern medicine arise, Ephraim begins to entertain the ramblings of a Holocaust survivor who knows too much about this unknown threat.

Part II

Comics received 4/16/12 Dark Horse edition Part I was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Comics received 4/16/12 Dark Horse edition Part II

Posted on by

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Creepy #7
Written by Joe R. & Keith Lansdale, Dan Braun, Bill Morrison, Martin Salvador, and Archie Goodwin
Art by Guus Floor, Patrick Reynolds, Wilfredo Torres, Steve Skeates, and Steve Ditko
Cover by Sanjulián

Promo copy:

Hope your New Year’s resolution was to be terrified, because Creepy is back to start 2012 with a scream! Featuring the latest from bone-chilling scribes Joe and Keith Lansdale, Christopher Taylor, and Dan Braun, this installment of the abominable anthology is sure to leave you shivering in the corner until next year!

* 48 pages of the finest in illustrated horror!

* Featuring a classic reprint from the original Creepy!

Mass Effect: Invasion #4
Story by Mac Walters
Script by John Jackson Miller
Art by Omar Francia
Cover by Massimo Carnevale

Promo copy:

Everything is on the line in this shocking conclusion! The surprise attack on space station Omega and its ruthless leader Aria T’Loak was only the beginning, and now Aria has been shown a bigger picture that puts the entire galaxy at risk. With the battle for Omega continuing, can Aria save her empire-and what role will she play in the greater war to come?

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic—War #2
Written by John Jackson Miller
Penciled by Andrea Mutti
Inked by Gigi Baldassini
Cover by Benjamin Carré

Promo copy:

The Mandalorian Wars heat up as this new series about the Old Republic takes off!

Can a pacifist survive in a war zone? Jedi Zayne Carrick is having a hard time of it, first drafted and now caught in the crossfire between the Mandalorians, the Republic Navy–and even fellow Jedi!

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1
Written by Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Art by Tonci Zonjic
Cover by Dave Johnson

Promo copy:

When a tribe of phantom Indians start scalping policemen, Hellboy’s crime-fighting hero Lobster Johnson and his allies arrive to take on these foes and their gangster cronies!

* From the pages of Hellboy.

* First Lobster Johnson story in four years!

Part I

Comics received 4/16/12 Dark Horse edition Part II was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1 – ALWR

Posted on by

[ Happy Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Recording a Podcast – no really. ]
I am not a Green Lantern fan. My knowledge of the character comes from his association with Green Arrow through Justice League and the Hard Travelling Heroes. But someone who I know gushed about this storyline so much, that I thought I would pick it up.

Hal Jordan is back from the dead, and he is trying to fit back into his life and the corps. He is looked upon suspiciously by his fellow Green Lanterns because of what happened before. Surrounding him are the other Earth Green lanterns, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. Sinestro rises back from banishment to challenge the corps, recruiting a group of "Sinestro Corp" members to fight along side him. And the results are not good for the corps.

Geoff Johns has been credited with giving a boot in the butt to this franchise, giving it the life and sense it needed to move forward. For me, this book was fun, but it was a little confusing as I didn’t know most of the characters on sight. Geoff Johns does not give enough of the backstory for someone like me to fully follow the story.

So if you are a real GL fan, this is your book. If you were a fan and are looking to get back in, this is your book. If you are like me, this is not your book.

John Constantine: Hellblazer – Phantom Pains (2012)

Posted on by

 

Quote:
I … I want you to summon a creature … a terrible creature … who can hurt him. Hurt him like he hurt me.

 

This book collects issues 276 to 282 of the ongoing Hellblazer series. It was again written by Peter Milligan with art on the main story from Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini (one chapter has art from Gael Bertrand) and art on the two single issue stories the bookend the volume was by Simon Bisley.

Married life is not running smoothly for John Constantine. First his new bride finds his wound from his amputated thumb disgusting and runs off to console herself with a demonic spirit. Second his home-grafted thumb, taken from a dying car crash victim, has a life of its own and gets him involved with its previous owner’s affairs. And finally his niece, Gemma, is seeking revenge on John for the abuse she suffered at his wedding that she thinks was carried out by him. All of this while trying to avoid becoming indebted to his gangster father-in-law.

Another enjoyable volume from Peter Milligan, though the two single issue stories are filler and pretty lightweight – which is a shame as the second concerning the demon Julian and his abuses of the prisoners could have been really interesting if it had been given more space to develop the tale properly. The main story has threads that don’t really go anywhere but overall it is very good with yet another person close to Constantine paying the price for his deviousness. The hints in this tale are that John might be about to head out on another of the dreaded road trips, possibly to America if he can’t put off his father-in-law, so that is something I am not looking forward to as I didn’t really like the last one when Brian Azzarello was the writer. But hopefully Milligan can pull it off as he has taken the character back to his roots and created some of the most entertaining stories for a long time in this long-lived series.

Books received 1/12/2012 mass market ed

Posted on by

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Fevre Dream
by George R. R. Martin
Cover by Stephen Youll

Promo copy:

A THRILLING REINVENTION OF THE VAMPIRE NOVEL BY THE MASTER OF MODERN FANTASY, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Abner Marsh, a struggling riverboat captain, suspects that something’s amiss when he is approached by a wealthy aristocrat with a lucrative offer. The hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet; nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York’s reasons for traversing the powerful Mississippi are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious York’s actions may prove. Not until the maiden voyage of Fevre Dream does Marsh realize that he has joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare—and humankind’s most impossible dream.

Star Wars: Scourge
by Jeff Grubb
Cover by Larry Rostant

Promo copy:

In the heart of crime-ridden Hutt Space, a Jedi Scholar searches for justice.

While trying to obtain the coordinates of a secret, peril-packed, but potentially beneficial trade route, a novice Jedi is killed—and the motive for his murder remains shrouded in mystery. Now his former Master, Jedi archivist Mander Zuma, wants answers, even as he fights to erase doubts about his own abilities as a Jedi. What Mander gets is immersion into the perilous underworld of the Hutts as he struggles to stay one step ahead in a game of smugglers, killers, and crime lords bent on total control.

Battleship
by Peter David

Promo copy:

YOU SANK THE WRONG BATTLESHIP

During a routine naval drill at Pearl Harbor, American forces detect a ship of unknown origins that’s crashed in the Pacific Ocean. Lieutenant Alex Hopper, an officer aboard the USS John Paul Jones, is ordered to investigate the ominous-looking vessel—which turns out to be part of an armada of ships that are stronger and faster than any on Earth. And that’s when the Navy’s radar goes down. Ambushed by a ravenous enemy they cannot see, a small U.S. fleet makes their last stand on the open ocean, armed with little more than their instincts, to defend their lives—and the world as we know it.

The official novel of the blockbuster film!
Based on the screenplay by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber

Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Four)
by Kevin Hearne
Cover by Gene Mollica

Promo copy:

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Books received 1/12/2012 mass market ed was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon