Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.
Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame by Zev Chafets
Promo copy:
The first book to draw back the veil on the Hall of Fame, combining an insider’s history of the Hall and its players with a consideration of baseball’s place in culture.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame is the holiest institution in American sports. It’s not just a place to honor great athletes. It’s where America’s pastime announces to the world what it is and what it wants to be. It’s not just a sports museum; it’s a mirror of American culture. As Zev Chafets points out, it’s no coincidence that the first black Hall of Famer, Jackie Robinson, was inducted in 1962, at the height of the civil rights movement. Or that the Hall is now planning a wing to honor Latino players. For a hundred years, the story of the Hall of Fame has been deeply tied up with the story of America.
For the first time, this book shows the inner workings of the Hall: the politics, the players, and the people who own and preserve it. From the history of the founding Clark family to a day on the town with the newly inducted Goose Gossage, from the battle over steroids to the economics of induction and secret campaigns by aspiring players, this is a highly irreverent and highly entertaining tour through the life of an American institution. For anyone who cares about baseball, this is essential reading.
Child of Fire by Harry Connolly
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Ray Lilly is living on borrowed time. He’s the driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of the Twenty Palace Society, a group of sorcerers devoted to hunting down and executing rogue magicians. But because Ray betrayed her once, Annalise is looking for an excuse to kill him—or let someone else do the job.
Unfortunately for both of them, Annalise’s next mission goes wrong, leaving her critically injured. With the little magic he controls, Ray must complete her assignment alone. Not only does he have to stop a sorcerer who’s sacrificing dozens of innocent lives in exchange for supernatural power, he must also find—and destroy—the source of that inhuman magic.
Masterpiece Comics by R. Sikoryak
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MASTERPIECE COMICS adapts a variety classic literary works with the most iconic visual idioms of twentieth-century comics. Dense with exclamation marks and lurid zip-a-tone, R. Sikoryak’s parodies remind us of the sensational excesses of the canon, or, if you prefer, of the economical expressiveness of classic comics from Superman to Peanuts. In "Blond Eve", Dagwood and Blondie are ejected from the Garden of Eden into their archetypal suburban home; Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray is re-imagined as a foppish Winsor McCay character; and Camus’ Stranger as a brooding, chain-smoking Golden-Era Superman.
Sikoryak’s classics have appeared in landmark anthologies such as RAW and Drawn & Quarterly all of which are collected in MASTERPIECE COMICS, along with brilliant new graphic literary satires. He is an illustrator for the New Yorker and his animation has been featured on the Daily Show with John Stewart.
The Surrogates: Flesh & Bone by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele
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In a dark, downtown alley in Central Georgia Metropolis, a juvenile prank goes too far and a homeless man is killed. When the ensuing investigation reveals that the attackers aren’t who they appeared to be, justice depends on the testimony of a single missing witness – a street snitch with a history of providing information to a cop named Harvey Greer. Harvey is placed on special assignment to track down the informant, but others have their own designs, including a wealthy socialite and an ex-con turned religious leader known to his followers as The Prophet. As days pass and anger among the anti-surrogate population grows, the city stands on a razor’s edge. Will punishment be exacted in a courtroom or on the streets? Set fifteen years prior to the events of the original Surrogates graphic novel, Flesh & Bone sheds light on the past that binds the cast together. From the streets of Central Georgia Metropolis to the boardroom of Virtual Self, Inc., Flesh & Bone takes us on a journey through a city struggling to come to grips with its present. Not only a suspenseful thriller but also a cautionary tale, this book reminds us that tomorrow will be determined by the choices we make today.
Watch for my Baker’s Dozen with creators Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. Coming soon to a monitor near you!
More in Part Two.