Bleach: The Lust

I read Bleach, Vol. 40 (Bleach (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

I Reads You Review: ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #3

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #3
IDW PUBLISHING

WRITERS: David Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner
ARTISTS: Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker, Eric Canete
INKS: Karl Story
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete and Cassandra Poulson
LETTERS: Shawn Lee, Kyle Baker
PIN-UP: Eric Powell with Dave Stewart
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVERS: Darwyn Cooke (A, C), Dave Stevens (B)
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

The Rocketeer is a comic book character created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens, who died in March of 2008. The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack that allows him to fly, and his adventures are set mainly in Los Angeles in and after the year 1938.

The Rocketeer returned to comic books in 2011 in Rocketeer Adventures. Edited by Scott Dunbier and published by IDW Publishing, this four-issue, anthology comic book was a tribute to Stevens and featured Rocketeer short stories (about 8 pages in length) from some of the premiere creators in American comic books. The tributes continue in Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2.

Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #3 opens with “Coulda Been…,” a story by David Lapham with art by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story, that finds Cliff Second and his girlfriend, Betty Page, imagining what their lives could be like. In “Butch Saves Betty,” the brilliant cartoonist Kyle Baker introduces Cliff and company to a shadowy client. Then, writer Matt Wagner and artist Eric Canete take readers to the future for a “History Lesson.”

David Lapham is a popular comic book creator, but I wonder if people really appreciate what a good writer he is. I see him as a comic book scribe who can always put an imaginative twist on the character/ensemble drama. Read 30 Days of Night: 30 Days ‘Til Death; it could have been just another vampire comic book, but isn’t. His “Coulda Been…” shows why making comic book characters “grow up,” especially those grounded in fantasy, is a mistake. The reason is that when you make characters act like real-world adults that fundamentally changes those characters, sometimes to the point in which they become different from what they were originally. Another good thing about this story is that the artist is the talented and under-utilized Chris Sprouse.

There is nothing special about the other two stories, other than that Kyle Baker draws one of them. What is special is the pin-up by Eric Powell (with colors by Dave Stewart). I could stare at a Powell drawing for an hour and not consider that a waste of time.

B

Cross Game: The Return of the Infamous Coach Daimon

I read Cross Game, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Ray Bradbury Has Died

American science fiction and fantasy author, Ray Bradbury, died Tuesday, June 5 2012, at the age of 91.  I first encountered his work in the late 1970s in the form of a film based upon his book, The Illustrated Man, and a television miniseries based another book, The Martian Chronicles.  Over time, I encountered more films, television, and even comic books based upon Bradbury's work.  His novel, Fahrenheit 451, is one of my favorite novels.

This Associated Press article (via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) has details on his life and career, including this tidbit:

Bradbury was so poor during those years that he didn't have an office or even a telephone. He wrote "Fahrenheit 451" at the UCLA library, on typewriters that rented for 10 cents a half hour. He said he carried a sack full of dimes and completed the book in nine days, at a cost of $9.80.

Although some academics doubted that account, saying he could not have created such a masterpiece in such a rapid, seemingly cavalier fashion, Bradbury maintained in several interviews with the AP over the years that that was exactly how he did it.

I won't put into words what his work meant to me, but I will say Rest in Peace, Mr. Bradbury.

Nura: Tono Monogatari

I read Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

I Reads You Review: STAR WARS: Darth Plagueis

STAR WARS: DARTH PLAGUEIS
DEL REY/BALLANTINE BOOKS

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

AUTHOR: James Luceno
COVER: Torstein Nordstrand
ISBN: 978-0-345-51128-7; hardcover
394pp, B&W, $27.00 U.S., $29.00 CAN

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is a 2012 science fiction novel written by James Luceno and is set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The novel belongs to the “Rise of the Empire Era,” which is the one thousand year period before the events depicted in the original Star Wars film (1977), also known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis also takes place over the 35-period that leads into Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. However, of the last 30 pages of this novel, 22 pages transpire during the events depicted in The Phantom Menace and 8 pages occur immediately afterwards.

Darth Plagueis is the Sith Lord of legend mentioned by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker about mid-way through Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Now, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis tells the story of Darth Plagueis, one of the most brilliant Sith Lords ever to live. He is Hego Damask, a member of the powerful Banking Clan, and as an apprentice to the Dark Side, Damask embraced the ruthless ways of the Sith. After killing his master, Darth Tenebrous, however, Damask is determined to never suffer the same fate. He wants power over both life and death.

Using his vast financial resources, Damask plunges into wicked scientific research. He even meets the young man, Palpatine, scion of a noble family from the resource-rich planet of Naboo. Palpatine eventually becomes Plagueis’ apprentice, Darth Sidious, and the master sets his apprentice on course to one day rule the galactic government. In the meantime, Sidious is determined to learn the secrets of the Sith, the ones of which even Plagueis is unaware and also the ones his master wishes to keep from him. The ultimate goal of both Sith is the destruction of the Jedi Order, but this quest is a path fraught with peril as the traps they set for their enemies also threaten to ensnare them.

For me, Star Wars novels take the science fiction action and adventure of the films and transform that into riveting prose. That prose is supposed to help me mentally visualize something similar to what I’ve seen (countless times) in six Star Wars movies. James Luceno does not do that for me with Star Wars: Darth Plagueis; he wrote something different. I was initially disappointed, especially while reading the early chapters of the book, but like the father in that classic television series, Luceno knows best.

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is a political novel. Call it a political thriller, a political conspiracy drama, or even a political character drama, but this novel is filled with backstage politicking, back-biting, back-stabbing, subterfuge, manipulation, political assassination, trumped-up wars, etc. In creating this kind of story, Luceno could not rely on X-Wing dogfights and space battles. He has to focus on characters, and so he fills this novel with an ensemble of engaging characters. They are the kind of sly and salty players that you will love even when you are thinking that you would like to put them to the lightsaber. Either Plagueis or Sidious alone could carry an entire novel, and despite what the title says, this novel is more about Sidious than it is about his master. To me, it is clear that Luceno loves Sidious, and it is hard not to love the man who would become Emperor of the known galaxy. Palpatine is the thinking man’s bastard: always plotting, surprisingly droll, witty and thoughtful, and always three steps ahead of everyone else.

Readers will be interested to know that we learn about the young Palpatine, which is his family’s surname, but we don’t learn his first name. The origin of Darth Maul is presented, and we see how Nute Gunray moved up the Trade Federation ladder. There are lots of other tidbits, but I leave that up to you, dear reader, to discover, because this book is worth reading. I will tell you, however, that Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is the Star Wars novel that takes you to the halls of power and to the places where secret deals are made. You’ll find blood on the floor, bodies around every corner, and a story that will grab you by the neck. Plus, there is some kind of creepy Anakin reveal that I’d rather not think about again. Go. Read.

A-

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for June 6 2012

DC COMICS

APR120181 ACTION COMICS #10 $3.99

APR120184 ACTION COMICS #10 COMBO PACK $4.99

APR120220 ANIMAL MAN #10 $2.99

FEB120245 BATMAN DETECTIVE COMICS HC VOL 01 FACES OF DEATH $22.99

NOV110249 BATMAN PATINA MINI STATUE (RES) $95.00

APR120205 BATWING #10 $2.99

APR120137 BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #1 (OF 6) (MR) $3.99

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APR120197 DETECTIVE COMICS #10 $3.99

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APR120218 DIAL H #2 $2.99

MAR120276 DMZ TP VOL 12 THE FIVE NATIONS OF NEW YORK (MR) $14.99

APR120166 EARTH 2 #2 $2.99

APR120280 FAIREST #4 (MR) $2.99

APR120226 GI COMBAT #2 $3.99

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MAR120252 GREEN LANTERN CORPS REVOLT OF ALPHA LANTERNS TP $14.99

APR120287 IZOMBIE #26 (MR) $2.99

MAR128285 JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 8TH PTG $3.99

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APR120269 LOONEY TUNES #207 $2.99

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