Thursday, February 28, 2008

Garfield

Stumbled across this today and it made me laugh.
http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/page/1
Used to love Garfield as a kid, but now I find him very unfunny, this site though made me laugh again at a Garfield strip.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Unusual Hero

Just finished reading Dearly Devoted Dexter and have really enjoyed this novel. If you know the TV series Dexter then you will know about the main character, but if you don't then some explanation is needed.
Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the police, but his real character comes out at night when he is a serial killer who hunts down and kills other serial killers.
The books a written with quite a light touch and contain some black humour that the TV series doesn't convey.
Well worth reading for fans of mystry novels with a twist, and fans of the TV show.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Adventure

Matthew Reilly's new novel Six Sacred Stones is a rollercoaster ride that anyone who has read his novels could expect.
Reilly has a formula which works, as you fly through the latest adventures of Jack West Jr. and his quest to find the six stones in the title. I pretty much read the book in a couple of days, and while never really challenged to think I don't read Reilly for intellectual stimulation.

If you're looking for a good public transport read, then this will suit you fine.

While you're at it chack out Reilly's blog. He is a real geek, proudly owning a life size model of Han Solo in Carbonite, and a DeLorean the model of car from Back to the Future. I'll put the link in my Blogroll.

A different world

I have been reading my way through an event which changed the world of the X-Men in many ways. The Age of Apocalypse (AOA) while set in an alternative universe spilt over into the regular Marvel universe, and proved to be very popular with fans.
AOA cast many familiar characters in unfamiliar roles. Professor X is killed by his son and America is invaded by Apocalypse who starts culling humans. Magneto wants to fulfill the dream of peace that his good friend Professor X started and groups together a resistence called the X-Men. He also marries Rogue and they have a child together.
Alex and Scott Summers are servants of Apocalypse having been raised by Mr Sinister who also controls the Dark Beast a scientist who will go to any lengths to design new super soldiers.
Sabertooth is a noble member of the X-Men, while Logan is a wild warrior who loses a hand to Cyclops' energy beam.
Fans of the X-Men will enjoy the twisted version of the world they are familiar with, and they will notice that certain characters have crossed over into the Marvel Universe. These include X-Man (AOA's version of Cable), Dark Beast who replaced Beast and caused all sorts of problems and Holocaust Apocalypse's son.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Family stories

Last night we watched Little Miss Sunshine for the second time, and it reminded me of Juno. I'm glad that Hollywood is prepared to still make these quirky, fun films that tell the stories of families and how they cope under stress.
Little Miss Sunshine has many stand out performances that make it a joy to watch, while still being able to make you pause and reflect. A film about what it means to be a family.
Juno also has some amazing performances, and important things to say about what it means to be a parent, and what growing up involves. The unconditional love that parents need to give their children, and the fact that children can never re-pay their parents. (And nor should they try.)
I love blockbuster films, but every now and then I like to lose myself in the quirky imaginings of someone else.

The Gunslinger

I have written before about how much I enjoy Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and now I have read The Gunslinger Born I can happily suggest that anyone interested in the series should read this graphic novel.
King has commented he would like to create untold stories of Roland and while he is only creative consultant on this series his influence shows through. Most of the writing duties are handled by the great Peter David, and the amazing art is done by Jae Lee.
The gothic tale of cowboys in a wierd west is faithfully brought to life, and readers of the book will be very familiar with the setting and the characters.
People coming to this for the first time without having read the book should not have any trouble following the story, and may even want to read the novels.

Monday, February 4, 2008

I, Librarian

James Turner is a mastermind, his character Rex Libris from the comic I, Librarian is a wonderful invention and as a librarian (and member of the Ordo Bibliotheca) I can heartily recommend this story to anyone with a sense of humour.
I'll let Rex introduce himself. "My name's Rex Libris. Librarian. And I work at Middleton Public Library ... the best God Damn public library in North America ... Most of the time I manage the library. But when shit goes down, when people don't return the goods on time, it's my job to bring the books back, and in one piece. That means I can't use my flamethrower. Gotta get the books from them with finesse...and it ain't easy, because we get some pretty tough patrons. Gods, undead, alien warlords, vampires, time travellers from the past ... and future ... my arsenal of knowledge includes rocket launchers, traking devices, electro-magnetic field generators, freeze rays and the usual assortment of automatic weaponary you'd expect in your typical library."
As you can gather Rex is not someone you want to mess around with, he gets the books back. Written with tongue planted firmly in cheek in a hard-boiled style I, Librarian is a great read, and one for any librarian friends you may know.
PS The Ordo Bibliotheca is explained in the back of this graphic novel, but I quote "The veil of secrecy that has surrounded the Ordo Bibliotheca, the secret International Order of Librarians, has been so complete and well maintained that it has ... remained completly unpenetrated by conspiracy theorists ... new information has come to light which reveal the depth of librarian influence on the development of human civilisation, and show conclusively that the superficial docility of the librarian is but a mask that enables them to operate freely, behind the scenes, in our society."

Friday, February 1, 2008

Aftermath

Anyone following the Marvel Universe will know that the Hulk's war on certain heroes has finished.
Bruce Banner is under lock and key in a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. location and the Hulk is being tracked in Siberia, and is now using a gun, as the Abonimation finds out.
Doctor Strange is still recovering from having the Hulk break both his hands, and Hercules has taken on the role of bringing down S.H.I.E.L.D. with the help of the seventh smartest person on the planet.
Also Manhatten is totally destroyed and New Jersey is full of refugee camps for the former residents.
Overall this is shaping up as an interesting follow up to what has been some fine storytelling.