Political Humour

I think this wonderful Mad poster speaks for itself.

Master and Apprentice

Darth Bane: The Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn charts how the great Sith Lord Darth Bane creates the Rule of Two to save the Sith. Bane despairs and the Sith and the way they were developing, as he tells his apprentice;

'Several apprentices would band together to take down a powerful Master, hoping to elevate their own position among the Sith. Then they would turn on one another, making and breaking alliances until only one remained - a new Master, but one weaker than the original. This survivor would then be taken down by another band of lesser Sith, further weakening our Order.'

No more, Bane institutes the Rule of Two. There will only be a Master and an Apprentice, one to embody the power the other to crave it.

As a Star Wars fan I have always found the Sith to be more interesting, and Karpyshyn makes Bane an interesting character who has a clearly defined morality, and reasoning, for becoming a Sith and walking down the path he has taken.

This book is for Star Wars fans, and I enjoyed reading it.

Poor Bloody Infantry

Glen Cook's Black Company series tells of life in the Black Company Mercenaries. A once great company, they have fallen on hard times and are now working as glorified bodyguards. The series is narrated by Croaker the Company's medic and archivist.
Other characters include the Company magicians/sorcerers One-Eye and Tom-Tom, and the many other individuals who make up this rag-tag group of mercenaries. Cook has a fun ear for dialogue, as his characters never take each other too seriously.
These books are a fun read about a group of losers who make good despite themselves, and somehow come out on top.

Hellsing

Hellsing by Kohta Hirano is a great manga that doesn't take itself to seriously. The English government has a secret organisation, the Hellsing Organisation, that protects them from supernatural threats.

As the blurb states this manga 'jumps the fence of normalcy and runs of laughing into the dark.'

The main character is a hugely powerful vampire, Alucard, who does the bidding of the Hellsing Organisation and his side kick Seras Victoria.

Starring vampires, Nazis, ghouls, werewolves, the secret Vatican group called The Iscariot Organisation and lots and lots of over the top action this is a lot of fun.

(And yes Alucard is Dracula spelt backwards.)

Don't make him angry

I've just finished reading House of M: Incredible Hulk, I won't go into the complex backstory but will say that Bruce Banner has found peace of mind with an Aboriginal tribe but after the tribe is attacked the Hulk starts smashing and ends up leader of Australia.

Peter David knows the Hulk and his writing is usually good, and it is here as well with some brief psychological discussions of what the Hulk represents to Bruce.

Funniest moment is when Bruce starts using Aussie slang and says to a policeman who is threatening him, "I'll end up spewin', and you wouldn't like me when I'm spewin'."

Not a bad read, though the whole House of M shermozzle is a waste of good paper.