Monthly Archives: March 2013

Books received 3/11/13 Del Rey edition

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

The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories

The Best of Connie Willis:
Award-Winning Stories

by Connie Willis

Promo copy:

Few authors have had careers as successful as that of Connie Willis. Inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and recently awarded the title of Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Willis is still going strong. Her smart, heartfelt fiction runs the gamut from screwball comedy to profound tragedy, combining dazzling plot twists, cutting-edge science, and unforgettable characters.

From a near future mourning the extinction of dogs to an alternate history in which invading aliens were defeated by none other than Emily Dickinson; from a madcap convention of bumbling quantum physicists in Hollywood to a London whose Underground has become a storehouse of intangible memories both foul and fair—here are the greatest stories of one of the greatest writers working in any genre today.

All ten of the stories gathered here are Hugo or Nebula award winners—some even have the distinction of winning both. With a new Introduction by the author and personal afterwords to each story—plus a special look at three of Willis’s unique public speeches—this is unquestionably the collection of the season, a book that every Connie Willis fan will treasure, and, to those unfamiliar with her work, the perfect introduction to one of the most accomplished and best-loved writers of our time. Continue reading →

Nemo: Heart of Ice (2013)

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“It’s just this coat. It’s so big and heavy sometimes.”

A spin-off story from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books featuring Janni Dakkar as Captain Nemo. The normal creative team of writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill are in charge again for this short adventure.

Set in 1925, the story sees Janni and her crew stealing the belongings of Queen Ayesha who is in New York as the guest of Charles Foster Kane. Back in her hideaway, Janni reflects on her life and her need to emulate and exceed the deeds of her father and so decides to travel to Antarctica to retrace her father’s steps on a quest that left his companions dead and him near to madness. Meanwhile Kane has hired three scientific adventurers to capture Janni at all costs to seek reparation for the loss and embarrassment felt by his house guest.

A more straight-forward story that the dense Century series that was completed last year, this story marks a return to the lighter storytelling of the original League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series. The shortness of the story does not give time for much context within the LOEG universe or a well defined reason for the adventure to the South Pole but it is still entertaining nonetheless. The usual elements are here with numerous figures from film and literature making an appearance as well as hallucinatory sequences and alien civilisations. Perhaps not a joining in point for readers new to the LOEG but a fun ride for those who liked the early books.

 

Books received 3/11/13 Pyr edition

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

The Devil's Looking Glass (The Swords of Albion, Book 3)

The Devil’s Looking Glass (The Swords of Albion, Book 3)

by Mark Chadbourn
Cover by Chris McGrath

Promo copy:

James Bond adventure in the court of Queen Elizabeth!

1593: The dreaded alchemist, magician, and spy Dr. John Dee is missing. . . .

Terror sweeps through the court of Queen Elizabeth, for in Dee’s possession is an obsidian mirror, an object of great power which, legend says, could set the world afire. And so the call goes out to celebrated swordsman, adventurer and rake Will Swyfte—find Dee and his looking glass and return them to London before disaster strikes. But when Will discovers the mirror might solve the mystery that has haunted him for years—the fate of his lost love, Jenny—the stakes become acutely personal.

With London under siege by supernatural powers, time is running out. Will is left with no choice but to pursue the alchemist to the devil-haunted lands of the New World—in the very shadow of the terrifying fortress home of the Unseelie Court. Surrounded by an army of unearthly fiends, with only his sword and a few brave friends at his back, the realm’s greatest spy must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice—or see all he loves destroyed. Continue reading →

Graphic novels/comics received 3/10/13 DC edition

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

Batman: Night of the Owls

Written by Scott Snyder, James T Tynion IV, Tony S. Daniel, Judd Winick, Peter J. Tomasi, Duane Swierczynski, Gail Simone, Scott Lobdell, Kyle Higgins, Justin Gray, and Jimmy Palmiotti

Art by Greg Capullo, Jason Fabok, Tony S. Daniel, David Finch, Marcus To, Patrick Gleason, Travel Foreman, Ardian Syaf, Kenneth Rocafort, Guillem March, Eddy Barrows, and Moritat

Cover by Greg Capullo

Promo copy:

• In this new hardcover, evil spreads across Gotham City as Batman’s allies, including Red Robin, Batwing, Robin, Batgirl, the Birds of Prey, Nightwing and even Catwoman find themselves in a battle coming from all sides.

• The Court of Owls makes its move against justice in this sprawling tale of corruption and violence.

• Collects BATMAN #8-9, BATMAN ANNUAL #1, DETECTIVE COMICS #9, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #9, BATWING #9, BATMAN AND ROBIN #9, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9, BIRDS OF PREY #9, BATGIRL #9, NIGHTWING #8-9 and ALL-STAR WESTERN #9. Continue reading →

Fables: Cubs in Toyland (2013)

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“Only silly Dorothys arrive in a magical land and want to go home.”

The latest trade collection of the Vertigo series, Fables, takes us to volume 18 collecting issues 114 to 123 – marking 10 years of the series. The usual contributors are present again with writer Bill Willingham and artists Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha. There are two stories in this collection the eight issue title story and a two issue story, The Destiny Game, featuring art from guest artist Gene Ha.

The main story, Cubs in Toyland, follows on from Therese receiving the odd Christmas present of a toy boat in the last volume. The present becomes even odder when it starts to talk to her and whisks her away to a land of toys looking for a queen. But this toyland is a dark place with broken down toys who all hide a dark secret of their own and will do anything and sacrifice anyone to be restored to their former glory.

The second story, The Destiny Game, features a grown up Ambrose, one of Snow and Bigby’s cubs, relating a tale of his father and how his fate was decided by an encounter with a woman who can pass the fate of others onto different people.

Another solid entry in the Fables canon. The only problem that I have with the recent collections is that, since the defeat of Mister Dark, the wider story of the general population of Fables has been marginalised to just a handful of pages – both in this book and the previous one. The focus has instead been on Snow, Bigby and their family and while the stories are interesting and entertaining, I miss the wider canvas available when a more diverse mix of Fables are brought into the story. But like I say a minor quibble in an otherwise great series as it heads into its second decade.

The Bufkin tale that had been running through the main story is missing from this volume. Looking at the Vertigo web site pages for the single issues, it looks like #114 was the start of a back up feature that starred Bufkin and his adventures in Oz. These are not reprinted in this volume but I hope that they will be collected together along with the standalone issue #124, which was the end of that storyline, in the next trade collection.

Revisiting the Uncanny Un-Collectibles 2013

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In Fall 2010, twenty-eight of my friends and I compiled the Uncanny Un-Collectibles: Missing Comic Book Trades, a list of 52 comic series that deserved to be collected. In April 2012, I revisited the six part bitchfest to see if any of our wishes had been granted. I reported that six of the titles had been collected: Sugar and Spike, the Murphy Anderson and Neal Adams Earth-2 1960s Spectre stories, All-Star Squadron, Levitz/Giffen Legion of Super-Heroes, Flex Mentallo, and Chase.

Let’s see what’s changed in the year since.

Showcase Presents Rip Hunter, Time Master Vol. 1

Collects SHOWCASE #20, 21, 25 and 26 and RIP HUNTER: TIME MASTER #1-15
Published July 18, 2012

Lewis Shiner wrote:

The comic that my father forbade me to read because of the way it distorted history. The early issues — before the team started wearing spandex — featured incredibly cool stories in which aliens turned out to be meddling in most of the important events in human history. The art was fun at worst, and at best, when Joe Kubert was at the helm, it was fabulous.

This would be a good candidate for the current Showcase Presents black and white titles from DC.

Showcase Presents Sea Devils Vol. 1

Collects SHOWCASE #27-29 and SEA DEVILS #1-16
Published May 23, 2012

Lewis Shiner wrote:

It remains utterly baffling to me why DC has not devoted one of their Archive Editions to the Sea Devils. While the stories were, of course, ridiculous, they were no more so than those in Strange Adventures or Green Lantern or any of the other DC comics of the day. And the art was staggeringly beautiful, Russ Heath at his finest — King Neptune riding a giant seahorse, the Octopus Man with a monstrous octopus on an anchor-chain leash — and the wonderful colors, with everything blue-shifted (the team’s red wetsuits are purple underwater, etc.). This needs to be reprinted in full color on good paper.

 

Pretty pathetic especially when compared to last year’s new collections.

Come on publishers, get on the ball and collect these excellent comics!