en-US Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:53:53 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 14885648 208 Ron Zimmerman 0785110127 Mike 1
I do NOT understand the tone of this book. Everyone’s a disgusting caricature, a cardboard prop, or a never-consistent MPD poster child.

I’ve concluded that Zimmerman is a discount Garth Ennis (extra-gross scenes and characters, just lacking anything funny), seen through a funhouse mirror shaped like a bad Deadpool writer. Or maybe a discount Kevin Smith (wall-o-dialogue) twisted by a lifetime of bigotry?

Reading this isn’t entirely terrible, once you get past the run-through-a-blender tonal shifts and if you ignore every second thing coming out of a vile character’s mouth.

But then it amplifies the slurry of banality with some truly pointless uses of page space�

Interrupting some slapdash Hollywood hijinks with a three-page rant and beat down against some generic Tinseltown C-listers?

Adrian Toomes in a polo?

Animal murder, rape, beatings?

Is this the product of someone in Marvel editorial who’s always wanted to make a grindhouse picture?

A hench crew made of of Stitch (the heavy with…um, bottle caps affixed to his arms and fists?), Hamster (five foot, bipedal, wears a suit) and the Script Doctor (at least this guy’s thematic - wears surgical scrubs, wields a scalpel).

And where the fuck is Spidey, in a so-called Spider-Man book?

Hell, even Spidey, arriving deus ex monkey-business like, couldn’t save this turd. It epilogues with a trans joke that even Frank Miller wouldn’t have included in the Goddamned Batman.]]> 2.08 2002
author: Ron Zimmerman
name: Mike
average rating: 2.08
book published: 2002
rating: 1
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax, what-the-fuck
review:
Matt D Wilson made a huge deal in a recent episode of War Rocket Ajax about how this was the worst comic he ever paid for. So of course I had to see what the fuss is about.

I do NOT understand the tone of this book. Everyone’s a disgusting caricature, a cardboard prop, or a never-consistent MPD poster child.

I’ve concluded that Zimmerman is a discount Garth Ennis (extra-gross scenes and characters, just lacking anything funny), seen through a funhouse mirror shaped like a bad Deadpool writer. Or maybe a discount Kevin Smith (wall-o-dialogue) twisted by a lifetime of bigotry?

Reading this isn’t entirely terrible, once you get past the run-through-a-blender tonal shifts and if you ignore every second thing coming out of a vile character’s mouth.

But then it amplifies the slurry of banality with some truly pointless uses of page space�

Interrupting some slapdash Hollywood hijinks with a three-page rant and beat down against some generic Tinseltown C-listers?

Adrian Toomes in a polo?

Animal murder, rape, beatings?

Is this the product of someone in Marvel editorial who’s always wanted to make a grindhouse picture?

A hench crew made of of Stitch (the heavy with…um, bottle caps affixed to his arms and fists?), Hamster (five foot, bipedal, wears a suit) and the Script Doctor (at least this guy’s thematic - wears surgical scrubs, wields a scalpel).

And where the fuck is Spidey, in a so-called Spider-Man book?

Hell, even Spidey, arriving deus ex monkey-business like, couldn’t save this turd. It epilogues with a trans joke that even Frank Miller wouldn’t have included in the Goddamned Batman.
]]> 179566992
The Mighty Thor has gone by many names over the millenia. In Norse myths, they called him Thunderer. Vuer has he been named, and Hloriddi. He is known as the keeper of Mjolnir, hero of ancient tales. But this day, what Thor is most of all, is All-Father and the King of Asgard. He is worthy, and he is triumphant. But with greater power than ever before there inevitably also comes greater threats than ever before�

If Asgardians are the gods to mere mortals, who are the gods to the Asgardians? If Thor is God of the Storm, who is the God of the Superstorm? The Elder Gods � ancient, primal forces sent by Thor’s own mother, Gaea, as part of a reckoning against both Asgard and Earth...but this is a Thor who can face down even the most impossible threats. This is the Immortal Thor.

Immortal Thor (2023) 1-5, Thor Annual (2023) 1]]> 144 Al Ewing 1302954180 Mike 0 on-deck-i-swear 3.96 2024
author: Al Ewing
name: Mike
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 220240968 496 Gail Simone 1302964070 Mike 0 4.00
author: Gail Simone
name: Mike
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: on-deck-i-swear, found-via-war-rocket-ajax, what-the-fuck
review:

]]> 768388 144 Bill Jemas 0785110429 Mike 0 1.47 2003
author: Bill Jemas
name: Mike
average rating: 1.47
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax, miserable, on-deck-i-swear, what-the-fuck
review:

]]> 36271478 360 Gail Simone 2809469237 Mike 0 on-deck-i-swear 3.64
author: Gail Simone
name: Mike
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 214540676 From the ashes of the Krakoan era, a new team of mutants rises to herald in the next great age of the X-Men!

The mutant nation of Krakoa is gone, and the anti-mutant organization Orchis has fallen � but the X-Men remain, always. As Cyclops, Scott Summers leads, because that is what he does. As Beast, Hank McCoy builds, because that is what he does. And from their new home in Alaska, the X-Men raise a flag of defiance. Mutant business is their business. Join Scott, Hank, Magneto, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper, Magik and the unstoppable Juggernaut as new forces in the world move into position, battling for the destiny and philosophy of the mutant species. And when a crisis arises in San Francisco, the X-Men must test their mettle against an entire invading alien fleet! But how did they come to possess their new HQ, the Factory, and how difficult a position does that put them in? Plus: the shocking return of Trevor Fitzroy and the Upstarts!

COLLECTING: X-Men (2024) 1-6]]> 176 Jed MacKay 1302959360 Mike 0 on-deck-i-swear 3.68 2025
author: Jed MacKay
name: Mike
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 63187176 112 Rainbow Rowell 1302947966 Mike 0 currently-reading 4.05 2023
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Mike
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 59456408 120 Rainbow Rowell 1302929070 Mike 4
Let’s keep reading more Rainbow, shall we?]]> 3.93 2022
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: found-via-reddit, ridiculously-excited
review:
Fun, engaging stories. This Jen is interesting - why isn’t she always sympathetic, empathetic, worried about more than her power to self-pleasure (looking at you John Byrne), just concerned with keeping people safe - and willing to look past previous sins (Titania as sparring partner makes sooo much sense)

Let’s keep reading more Rainbow, shall we?
]]> 215363279 In her most imaginative novel yet, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: Retired super hero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect.�

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins� new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.]]> 400 Lisa Jewell 1368099815 Mike 0 to-read 3.84 2024
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26030919 504 David Michelinie 0785196919 Mike 0 currently-reading 3.75 2016
author: David Michelinie
name: Mike
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 60568355
COLLECTING: New Fantastic Four (2022) 1-5]]> 128 Peter David 1302932209 Mike 0 3.18 2023
author: Peter David
name: Mike
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read, found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:

]]> 55377284
Collecting the savage satire reuniting the critically acclaimed team behind DC's The Flintstones-writer Mark Russell (Second Coming) and Eisner-nominated artist Steve Pugh (Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass)-in a new graphic novel.]]> 144 Mark Russell 1952090024 Mike 0 3.72 2020
author: Mark Russell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read, found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:

]]> 43565368 A landmark book about how we form habits, and what we can do with this knowledge to make positive change

We spend a shocking 43 percent of our day doing things without thinking about them. That means that almost half of our actions aren't conscious choices but the result of our non-conscious mind nudging our body to act along learned behaviors. How we respond to the people around us; the way we conduct ourselves in a meeting; what we buy; when and how we exercise, eat, and drink--a truly remarkable number of things we do every day, regardless of their complexity, operate outside of our awareness. We do them automatically. We do them by habit. And yet, whenever we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on willpower. We keep turning to our conscious selves, hoping that our determination and intention will be enough to effect positive change. And that is why almost all of us fail. But what if you could harness the extraordinary power of your unconscious mind, which already determines so much of what you do, to truly reach your goals?

Wendy Wood draws on three decades of original research to explain the fascinating science of how we form habits, and offers the key to unlocking our habitual mind in order to make the changes we seek. A potent mix of neuroscience, case studies, and experiments conducted in her lab, Good Habits, Bad Habits is a comprehensive, accessible, and above all deeply practical book that will change the way you think about almost every aspect of your life. By explaining how our brains are wired to respond to rewards, receive cues from our surroundings, and shut down when faced with too much friction, Wood skillfully dissects habit formation, demonstrating how we can take advantage of this knowledge to form better habits. Her clear and incisive work shows why willpower alone is woefully inadequate when we're working toward building the life we truly want, and offers real hope for those who want to make positive change.]]> 320 Wendy Wood 1250159075 Mike 0 to-read, found-via-meetups 3.72 2019
author: Wendy Wood
name: Mike
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: to-read, found-via-meetups
review:

]]> 210499031
The newest It Couple in comics, She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts, were supposed to be enjoying a romantic getaway in space - but now Jennifer is fighting for her life on a space station orbiting the sun! The intergalactic crime lord Drapurg is looking for payback after She-Hulk thwarted his attempts to destroy Manhattan - and if that weren't bad enough, someone is also out for emotional revenge as well. But is it aimed at Jen or Jack?! Your heart is not ready for this one! First the action will have it pounding in your chest, then the climax will break it! She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts have seen their love blossom over the last two years of storytelling, but do they have a future?]]> 112 Rainbow Rowell 1302957120 Mike 0 to-read 4.11
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Mike
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61399009
COLLECTING: X-Men Red (2022) 6-10]]> 144 Al Ewing 1302947524 Mike 0 currently-reading 4.01
author: Al Ewing
name: Mike
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 60420343
COLLECTING: X-Men: Red (2022) 1-5]]> 152 Al Ewing 1302932837 Mike 4
And clever trick in making this battle to the way it did.

Hell, Ewing pulls off the impossible and makes me actually fine with reading about space politics, which is usually my Marvel kryptonite. F’ing Shi’ar, f’ing planets I never cared about, f’ing god damned Abigail Brand (who’s been irritating as fuck lately, which is not how o perceived her when she first made the scene as the equal of Beast and Captain Marvel) - all of it, I can tolerate, especially the Arrako court (who are all prepared to snap you like a matchstick if you laugh wrong at one of their dark jokes).

If not for having to take a side tangent in the Immortal X-Men “deviants� storyline, and have the whole damn planet battle with Uranos, this’d be a sold five star book for sure. ]]> 4.07 2022
author: Al Ewing
name: Mike
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax, repeat-recommendation
review:
Boy does Al Ewing go hard in this one. Really taking the “red� to heart - hard as nails Storm, Magneto - even Robert DaCosta doesn’t entirely piss me off as much as usual.

And clever trick in making this battle to the way it did.

Hell, Ewing pulls off the impossible and makes me actually fine with reading about space politics, which is usually my Marvel kryptonite. F’ing Shi’ar, f’ing planets I never cared about, f’ing god damned Abigail Brand (who’s been irritating as fuck lately, which is not how o perceived her when she first made the scene as the equal of Beast and Captain Marvel) - all of it, I can tolerate, especially the Arrako court (who are all prepared to snap you like a matchstick if you laugh wrong at one of their dark jokes).

If not for having to take a side tangent in the Immortal X-Men “deviants� storyline, and have the whole damn planet battle with Uranos, this’d be a sold five star book for sure.
]]> 58231800 Caroll Quigley Mike 0 to-read 5.00
author: Caroll Quigley
name: Mike
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3316474 240 Ed Brubaker 1401219233 Mike 4 4.34 2008
author: Ed Brubaker
name: Mike
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2010/08/01
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 215808138 From the ashes of the Krakoan era, the flagship X-Men title returns at last, with a familiar team in an all-new direction!

Professor X is gone! Now, a core group of essential X-Men must find a way to rise again. All bonds among the mutant community seem to be slipping away, and Rogue reluctantly finds herself as the hero designated to bring them back together. But a fearless, malignant power is out there hunting mutants, and it has a terrible secret that may destroy what remains of the X-Men! Rogue can count on Gambit and Wolverine, but they’ll soon welcome back another friend � just in time to face four uncontrollable and wild mutants in the swamps of Louisiana! But will a grieving Rogue take Xavier’s place in guiding them to the light? Or will a darkness from the past destroy the X-Men, one at a time?!

COLLECTING: Uncanny X-Men (2024) 1-6, X-Men (2021) 35 (C story), Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men 1]]> 176 Gail Simone 1302959298 Mike 0 to-read 3.90
author: Gail Simone
name: Mike
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 598950 Trade paperback. Joe Kelly 0785106650 Mike 0 found-via-goodreads 4.43 1998
author: Joe Kelly
name: Mike
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: found-via-goodreads
review:

]]> 62956864 136 Benjamin Percy 1302947672 Mike 0 currently-reading 3.36
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Mike
average rating: 3.36
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 62315698 200 Gerry Duggan 1302952099 Mike 3 3.29
author: Gerry Duggan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.29
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves:
review:
Gala itself was good, and the Spidey spin-off was great, but the Secret x-men issue’s art was so sloppy that I just couldn’t even skim the words (DNF) - and I was already waved off the other dreck, so overall this was not a good book, even if it had some good pages.
]]> 61399002
COLLECTING: X-Men (2021) 13-18]]> 208 Gerry Duggan 1302932500 Mike 0 currently-reading 3.63 2023
author: Gerry Duggan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 204238290 The Birds of Prey are back, breaking hearts and breaking faces with the most intimidating lineup in team history—including Black Canary and Harley Quinn!

Every mission matters. Every life saved is a miracle. But this time, it's personal.

Dinah Lance is one of the DC Universe’s most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she's a fearsome foe in any scenario...but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help.

Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group of badasses—Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn—and only one goal: extraction without bloodshed. What could possibly go wrong?

Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Black Widow) makes her long-awaited DC Universe writing debut, and is joined by her Hawkeye collaborators Leonardo Romero (Batman) and Jordie Bellaire (Wonder Woman) to debut an all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey series, taking the team all the way to Themyscira for the battle of their lives!

This volume collects Birds of Prey #1-6.]]> 160 Kelly Thompson 1779525583 Mike 4 ridiculously-excited
So I came to this book - one of her first since unlatching from Marvel’s contract - with a certain expectation: humour-forward, breezy, not too heavy on deep mythology and continuity.

Thompson has confounded every one of those expectations with this book. And yet I’m sitting here trying to figure out why I didn’t NOT like it.

It’s heavy on using established characters (I think? The sword assassin and the time traveler are new to me, but the rest are at least familiar and even well-loved), and seems to carry forward some continuity I’m wholly unfamiliar with.

The story and dialogue are pretty heavy, with only a few touches of Harley being irreverent.

Was this a great book? Judged against the Thompson books I enjoyed the most, this wasn’t my favourite, and I may or may not continue with this run - even though there’s clearly escalating stakes being unfurled. It felt almost forced-serious, which I’m probably projecting - maybe this is the kind of book Thompson’s wanted to write all along. Or maybe doing a story where the protags are intentionally beating on WW just doesn’t jibe with laugh-a-minute. We’ll see - if my fellow shallow readers hype the next volume then I’ll likely jump back in. ]]> 3.93 2024
author: Kelly Thompson
name: Mike
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: ridiculously-excited
review:
Kelly Thompson has my eternal loyalty for making so many fun and heartfelt comics during her time at Marvel.

So I came to this book - one of her first since unlatching from Marvel’s contract - with a certain expectation: humour-forward, breezy, not too heavy on deep mythology and continuity.

Thompson has confounded every one of those expectations with this book. And yet I’m sitting here trying to figure out why I didn’t NOT like it.

It’s heavy on using established characters (I think? The sword assassin and the time traveler are new to me, but the rest are at least familiar and even well-loved), and seems to carry forward some continuity I’m wholly unfamiliar with.

The story and dialogue are pretty heavy, with only a few touches of Harley being irreverent.

Was this a great book? Judged against the Thompson books I enjoyed the most, this wasn’t my favourite, and I may or may not continue with this run - even though there’s clearly escalating stakes being unfurled. It felt almost forced-serious, which I’m probably projecting - maybe this is the kind of book Thompson’s wanted to write all along. Or maybe doing a story where the protags are intentionally beating on WW just doesn’t jibe with laugh-a-minute. We’ll see - if my fellow shallow readers hype the next volume then I’ll likely jump back in.
]]> 60420338
COLLECTING: Immortal X-Men (2021) 1-6]]> 184 Kieron Gillen 1302928015 Mike 3
Ugh, bore me to coma why don’t you?

Having a hard time remembering what went on in the issues leading up to Judgment Day. So I re-read. Sinister scheming, but I honestly didn’t catch WHY. I think Gillen is just writing the character without a specific outcome in mind. Just more genetic fuckery because it’s fun?

[spoilers removed]

But I can’t remember why the Eternals kidnapped Sinister - did they know what he’s up to?]]> 4.04 2022
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Mike
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves:
review:
The Judgment Day “crossover� and its lead-in (which was no surprise to Gillen, he obviously planned this whole story between the two books) was tedious as fuck in this book, spending all sorts of time in a Gaiman-like trance of navel-gazing by a mutant of religious persuasion who’s� trying to decide who’s a prophet and who’s a messiah among the Krakoans? For real? Why? Why is Exodus worth all this attention?

Ugh, bore me to coma why don’t you?

Having a hard time remembering what went on in the issues leading up to Judgment Day. So I re-read. Sinister scheming, but I honestly didn’t catch WHY. I think Gillen is just writing the character without a specific outcome in mind. Just more genetic fuckery because it’s fun?

[spoilers removed]

But I can’t remember why the Eternals kidnapped Sinister - did they know what he’s up to?
]]> 60769878
COLLECTING: A.X.E.: Judgment Day (2022) 1-6, A.X.E.: Avengers (2022) 1, A.X.E.: X-Men (2022) 1, A.X.E.: Eternals (2022) 1, Free Comic Book Day 2022: Avengers/X-Men 1 (A.X.E. story)]]> 240 Kieron Gillen 1302947001 Mike 2
I think I see where Gillen is trying to take this - make an event that operates both on Big Cosmic Scale *and* still has that “common street level� feel that we mortals can relate to.

Only it doesn’t quite work as either - if the Cosmic Scale threat can be defeated in one issue, and it’s not even the climax of the story, then it takes the punch out of that threat.

And the common street folks seem vapid and as meaningless as AI avatars battling it out for teenage boys� amusement. They’re one-note at best, and even though I realise you can’t make six side characters deep and rich, I figure if humanity’s fate hangs in the balance on these simulacra, the resolution of the arch-threat will feel as out of our reach as any ol Deus Ex.

Tried four times to finish this and instead it just stopped from reading better comics. Bail. ]]> 3.65 2023
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Mike
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves:
review:
DNF

I think I see where Gillen is trying to take this - make an event that operates both on Big Cosmic Scale *and* still has that “common street level� feel that we mortals can relate to.

Only it doesn’t quite work as either - if the Cosmic Scale threat can be defeated in one issue, and it’s not even the climax of the story, then it takes the punch out of that threat.

And the common street folks seem vapid and as meaningless as AI avatars battling it out for teenage boys� amusement. They’re one-note at best, and even though I realise you can’t make six side characters deep and rich, I figure if humanity’s fate hangs in the balance on these simulacra, the resolution of the arch-threat will feel as out of our reach as any ol Deus Ex.

Tried four times to finish this and instead it just stopped from reading better comics. Bail.
]]> 203162906 'I know for sure that I have an instinct for color, and painting is in the very marrow of my bones' The life of Van Gogh has gone down in legend as the archetypal artist’s existence. He was irascible and short-tempered, hugely passionate and emotional, absurdly talented and, for most of his lifetime, notoriously misunderstood and under-appreciated. And yet today, we see him as one of the most inventive, influential and admired painters of the entire Western canon, if not a genius. Taking us through his short but explosive life, this graphic novel paints a vivid picture of Van Gogh’s unusual youth, his famous early failures, his discovery of a new style of painting, his tragic suicide, and the meteoric artistic legacy that followed. For those looking for an introduction to this incredible artist, or searching for a fresh take on his story � this is Vincent Van Gogh’s life as you’ve never seen it before.]]> 160 Simon Elliott 0711294968 Mike 0 to-read 3.60
author: Simon Elliott
name: Mike
average rating: 3.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61272956
WELCOME to QUESTS ASIDE
Known to all, both far and wide!

A skeleton, an apprentice mage, and an exiled princess walk into a bar� for another shift at Quests Aside , the local watering hole run by once legendary, now retired, adventurer Barrow.

When the King privately explains that he plans to shut the place down, Barrow must find a way to hold onto his business, the friendships, and the family he's built around it.

It’s always sunny in the realms!

Collects the entire, best-selling 5-issue series!

“…it’s like Cheers set in the world of Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 Lord of the Rings adaptation.� -- Publishers Weekly

"Quests Aside � has a made-for-TV vibe." -- AIPT

“A fine mix of humor and drama.� � Major Spoilers

“Magic, situational comedy, and camaraderie blend into a whimsical fantasy…� -- Publishers Weekly

"Beautiful looking, voiced with riotous confidence, Quests Aside boasts one of the best core concepts I've seen in recent high fantasy. I'm furious that I didn't think of it." -- Si Spurrier ( The RUSH , Hellblazer , The Dreaming , X-Men )

For fans of Giant Days, Rolled & Told, Rat Queens, Nimona, and Adventure Zone]]> 160 Brian Schirmer 1638491577 Mike 0 found-via-goodreads, to-read 3.53
author: Brian Schirmer
name: Mike
average rating: 3.53
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: found-via-goodreads, to-read
review:

]]> 209812415 For Fans of BIRDS OF PREY, DUKE, and MARVEL’S DEMON DAYS, SCARLETT follows G.I. Joe’s resident spy as she uncovers if her long lost friend has been truly missing this whole time, or part of a larger plan that goes against everything she thought she knew.

THE NEXT CHAPTER OF CODENAME G.I. JOE BEGINS HERE.

Shana “Scarlett� O'Hara is about to take on the most dangerous black ops mission of her career: infiltrating the mysterious rising power in Japan known as Clan Arashikage. Her one lead is her former partner—Jinx—turned Arashikage enforcer.

Now, Scarlett must use her very particular set of skills to survive undercover... and discover a shocking weapon that could change the balance of power on Earth.

Red-hot writer Kelly Thompson (Black Widow, Birds of Prey) and artist Marco Ferrari (Frontiersman) introduce some of the most anticipated characters to the Energon Universe in ways you’ll never expect.]]> 120 Kelly Thompson 1534329552 Mike 0 to-read 3.64 2024
author: Kelly Thompson
name: Mike
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25123423 26 Martin Pasko Mike 0 4.50
author: Martin Pasko
name: Mike
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves:
review:

]]> 9433132
Collecting: S.H.I.E.L.D. 1-6]]> 186 Jonathan Hickman 0785148949 Mike 5 3.85 2011
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: on-deck-i-swear, war-rocket-ajax-hickmania
review:

]]> 216926763
If they come into conflict, the world ends.

The Power Fantasy is a pop culture-infused, superpowered, Cold War thriller about the spying, scheming, and violence these people will do to avoid coming into open conflict.

Come dance to the ticking of the doomsday clock with KIERON GILLEN (The Wicked + The Divine, DIE) and CASPAR WIJNGAARD (Homesick Pilots, All Against All).

The eternal fight against fighting starts now.

Collects issues #1-5.]]> 136 Kieron Gillen 1534395563 Mike 0 to-read 4.34
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Mike
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62066010
On her journey to doom humankind, a heartbroken and betrayed Poison Ivy encounters obstacles (plant assassins!) and dodges the law along the way, in a body horror-infused character-defining epic from the visionary creative team of writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Marcio Takara.

This volume collects Poison Ivy #1-6.]]> 160 G. Willow Wilson 1779518498 Mike 0 4.28 2023
author: G. Willow Wilson
name: Mike
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: ridiculously-excited, found-via-goodreads, on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 210041406 168 G. Willow Wilson 1779528434 Mike 0 to-read 4.34 2024
author: G. Willow Wilson
name: Mike
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 210041399
It’s the dawn of a new day as Pamela Isley makes her return to Harley—and Gotham City—with the world’s most adorable admin, Janet from HR, in tow. As Poison Ivy reluctantly investigates the inner workings of a strange new skyscraper in Gotham, she finds herself up to her neck in a surreal and slimy mystery. And at its center? A brand-new villain in the Poison Ivy pantheon of rogues!

Could Killer Croc hold the secret necessary to saving the citizens of Gotham? Ivy must come face-to-face with her own unintended horrors while simultaneously making a horrifying discovery about her own strange new body.

Collects Poison Ivy #13-18, from writer G. Willow Wilson and artists Marcio Takara, Luana Vecchio, and Arif Prianto.]]> 168 G. Willow Wilson 1779529414 Mike 0 to-read 3.98 2024
author: G. Willow Wilson
name: Mike
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214847935
This is certainly not the first time John Constantine has had a brush with death � but if he doesn’t play his cards right, it may be his last!

Far from home and with precious few allies to call upon, Constantine, his son Noah, and his “bodyguard� Nat are on the run in America and wanted for murder. To make matters worse, John’s heart has stopped beating and his body is quite literally decaying more and more with each passing day.

Thankfully, he may have a chance at winning a favor from the King of Dreams himself, Morpheus of the Endless, to save himself� that is, if he can figure out who is using Dream’s sand to weave its terrible will into America’s collective unconscious! Afterall, when has playing quid pro quo with all-powerful, extra-dimensional entities ever blown up in Constantine’s face?]]> 264 Simon Spurrier 177952983X Mike 0 to-read 4.03
author: Simon Spurrier
name: Mike
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62322179 - Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group

Based on 25 years of experience working with thousands of leaders � from early-career product managers to CEOs � Never Search Alone gives readers a time-tested, multi-step process (with exercises, tools, and templates) to find the right job now.

This new approach to looking for a job and building a good career focuses on three big ideas learned from helping thousands of job

Never Search Alone. Because your emotional balance is the most important thing you need to manage in a job search, you need a support group of fellow job seekers that will help you turn insecurity and anxiety into hope, motivation, confidence, and accountability.Candidate-Market Fit. If product-market fit drives company success, candidate-market fit drives career success. So, before you begin interviewing and networking you need to identify precisely what you want and what the market wants. Phyl shows how this key step will help you figure out the intersection between your hopes and dreams and market realities.Four Legs to the Negotiations Stool. There are *four* legs to the negotiations compensation, budget, resources, and support. The last three drive your success in the next job, which is why Phyl asks job seeker’s to emphasize that as much or even more than compensation (though, of course, they will also show you how to ask for more money).
Foreword by Marty Cagan (Excerpt)

For more than 20 years, I’ve encouraged people who are serious about their career to meet Phyl Terry.

Yes, Phyl is one of the best-connected leaders in the industry.

Yes, Phyl is a genuine human being who truly cares about you per- sonally and your career.

But what really sets Phyl apart is that he understands how to harness the power of community.

This book is all about scaling the magic that is Phyl.

I have seen Phyl and the techniques he advocates dramatically improve the career trajectories of countless people.

And not just people who are in mid-career, dissatisfied with their current job, and want to find better.

These techniques are at least as valuable for new college graduates looking for that all-important first professional job.

Or another very difficult but increasingly common older employees who find themselves in need of a new job, yet encountering systemic ageism at every turn.

Which is to say, nearly everyone in the professional workforce can benefit from the techniques in this book.

And one more pro it’s a good idea to learn these techniques before you need them.

When you are able to find a job that you truly enjoy, that leverages your unique skills and talents, where you can receive the coaching necessary to continue to grow and develop to reach your potential, and where you can make a real contribution, you have meaningfully improved your life.

My hope is that this book will help countless people to improve their lives.

� Marty Cagan
Founder, Silicon Valley Product Group December 2021]]> 296 Phyl Terry Mike 0 4.17
author: Phyl Terry
name: Mike
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: to-read, product-management, found-via-meetups, repeat-recommendation
review:

]]> 13589182 318 Robert Greene 0670024961 Mike 0 4.26 2012
author: Robert Greene
name: Mike
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: to-read, found-via-meetups, found-via-reddit
review:

]]> 218188079
Visionary creator Peach Momoko (DEMON DAYS) crafts a new generation of X-Men for an all-new universe! Hisako Ichiki is a teenage girl who just wants to live a normal life - go to school, hang out with her friends, and ignore the political strife boiling over after the events of ULTIMATE INVASION. But life has other plans for her. In Japan, urban legends have sprung to life - and brought some unusual new powers with them. Meet Armor, Maystorm and a brand-group of new Ultimate X-Men - the likes of which you've never seen before!]]> Peach Momoko 1302530364 Mike 0 on-deck-i-swear 3.76 2024
author: Peach Momoko
name: Mike
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 203166763 The dawn of Marvel's new Ultimate Universe continues with a brand new vision of the Black Panther and Wakanda!

In the wake of ULTIMATE INVASION, Khonshu and Ra � the force known together as Moon Knight � are seeking to expand their brutal control of the continent of Africa. In response, the lone bulwark against them, the isolated nation of Wakanda, will send forth its champion…its king…the Black Panther! After Moon Knight’s forces attack the stronghold of Wakanda, T’Challa can no longer resist Shuri and the Dora Milaje’s calls to action. Grieving and enraged, the Panther demands to know who has been leaking information about Wakanda to their enemy…and the source shocks him to his core. Plus: A prophecy about T’Challa threatens to upend the war � and all of Wakandan life!

COLLECTING: Ultimate Black Panther (2024) 1-4]]> 152 Bryan Edward Hill 1302957309 Mike 0 to-read 3.58 2024
author: Bryan Edward Hill
name: Mike
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 210499017 Dare you enter the haunted house of X? Veteran X-writer Kieron Gillen brings his acclaimed IMMORTAL X-MEN run to a close, as the Krakoan era collapses around mutantkind!

How can you kill a digital god? What do you do when the Phoenix is bleeding out into nothing? And with forever looming ahead of them, can the shattered X-Men avoid being swallowed by the darkness of the Fall of X? There have been questions that have haunted readers as we reach the end of IMMORTAL X-MEN. Finally, some answers will be revealed. And let’s be fair � there have also been questions that have haunted readers since the very BEGINNING of IMMORTAL X-MEN too! Finally, some answers to those will be revealed as well!

COLLECTING: X-Men: Forever (2024) 1-4]]> 120 Kieron Gillen 1302958011 Mike 0 to-read 3.60
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Mike
average rating: 3.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60769871
COLLECTING: X-Force (2019) 27-33]]> 192 Benjamin Percy 1302932667 Mike 4
Wouldn’t call this book FUN exactly, but it’s been a solid entry in the annals of melancholy - what if you get everything you want? And THEN what?

Beast is attempting to claim full supervillain status (10% discount on Armageddon weapons), Omega Red is almost a character worth noticing, and an oddly-thematic crossover doesn’t seem to have screwed with the story (or IS IT exactly this story, Eternals fucking with the Immortal X-Men)?

Deadpool getting digested by a bear, that’s pretty on-brand. ]]> 3.40
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Mike
average rating: 3.40
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
A little more team-book, a little more fighting against some tough enemies - a sentient Cerebro helmet? Kraven stalking the mutants? Deadpool being an ass?

Wouldn’t call this book FUN exactly, but it’s been a solid entry in the annals of melancholy - what if you get everything you want? And THEN what?

Beast is attempting to claim full supervillain status (10% discount on Armageddon weapons), Omega Red is almost a character worth noticing, and an oddly-thematic crossover doesn’t seem to have screwed with the story (or IS IT exactly this story, Eternals fucking with the Immortal X-Men)?

Deadpool getting digested by a bear, that’s pretty on-brand.
]]> 63187170 144 Leah Williams 1302946994 Mike 0 currently-reading 3.93
author: Leah Williams
name: Mike
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 201490917 112 Benjamin Percy 1302954741 Mike 0 to-read 3.22
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Mike
average rating: 3.22
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58505900
COLLECTING: X-Force (2019) 21-26]]> 168 Benjamin Percy 1302927221 Mike 5
Beast is quite the mad scientist; Quentin is desperately grasping at the connection he never had as a child; Wolverine continues to toy with the idea that he might not be irredeemable. And wtf are we about to unleash with the gruesome manipulations of Colossus?

I quite enjoy a Percy book that doesn’t focus on the chorus so much, but sinks into the bridges and emptiness between notes. Bring me more. ]]> 3.20
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Mike
average rating: 3.20
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
This book is taking on a meditative quality for me. Like one of the X-books from 10 or 15 years ago, that spent a lot of time dwelling on Rogue’s trauma and recovery. Only this one is spending time on the traumas of more than one character, and digging deep into why they continue to be part of the black ops team (or why we need them there).

Beast is quite the mad scientist; Quentin is desperately grasping at the connection he never had as a child; Wolverine continues to toy with the idea that he might not be irredeemable. And wtf are we about to unleash with the gruesome manipulations of Colossus?

I quite enjoy a Percy book that doesn’t focus on the chorus so much, but sinks into the bridges and emptiness between notes. Bring me more.
]]> 56755946


Collects X-Force (2019) #15-20, Wolverine (2020) #13]]> 192 Benjamin Percy 1302927213 Mike 4
Like another Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖer pointed out, this is the first time I’ve seen Quentin Quire taken this seriously, and it’s a welcome upgrade for a character with a ton of potential to thread the grey zone between Superman and Wolverine - too powerful to make us care when they take on threats they can just punch their way out of, and their own worst enemy.

Domino? Always a blast.

Phoebe as QQ’s morally grey accomplice is intriguing. I’ve never been able to keep the Cuckoos straight, so this individual attention finally gives me a chance to focus. ]]> 3.45 2021
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Mike
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:
A book with more than a little red in the ledger. Beast has really taken a long overdue beating of his unimpeachable moral standards the last decade or so. This iteration is arguably worse than even Dark Beast was when he came back from Apocalypse territory. And yet every time he tries to justify his actions I’m inclined to want to back him. Should be a desperately tragic ride down to his self-immolation.

Like another Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖer pointed out, this is the first time I’ve seen Quentin Quire taken this seriously, and it’s a welcome upgrade for a character with a ton of potential to thread the grey zone between Superman and Wolverine - too powerful to make us care when they take on threats they can just punch their way out of, and their own worst enemy.

Domino? Always a blast.

Phoebe as QQ’s morally grey accomplice is intriguing. I’ve never been able to keep the Cuckoos straight, so this individual attention finally gives me a chance to focus.
]]> 57796305
Collects Marauders (2019) #21, X-Men (2019) #21, Planet-Size X-Men (2021) #1, S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #6, material from Classic X-Men (1986) #7.]]> 144 Jonathan Hickman 1302931156 Mike 3 3.71 2022
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: found-via-goodreads, repeat-recommendation, dawn-of-x
review:

]]> 59801883
COLLECTING: X-Men (2021) 7-12]]> 176 Gerry Duggan 1302927248 Mike 4
Great fight scenes, sewed together with saffron thread, trying to seem as if there’s continuity of form? Maddening.

Orchis and Ben Urich, promised as Big Threats to our X-friends, but disappearing into the fringe at a moment’s notice? Frustrating.

I’m a huge fan of the Krakoa era’s Big Moves and relief from the exhaustion of always fighting anti-mutant forces from the back foot.

But maybe this is the problem - when the heroes are ALWAYS successful, maybe it siphons off just enough urgency to leave stories bumbling into each other?

I’m gonna give Duggan the credit he deserves - every scene is interesting and entertaining even if not essential. And the wrap to this volume is sufficiently satisfying to keep me interested in proceeding. Just wish I didn’t have the attention span of a goldfish. ]]> 3.71
author: Gerry Duggan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves:
review:
I’ve tried three times to sit down and read through this volume. Three times I find myself lost in the middle, a jumble of scenes that I’m guessing are meant to add up to a storyline or three - but fucked if I could tell you what it’s building up to?

Great fight scenes, sewed together with saffron thread, trying to seem as if there’s continuity of form? Maddening.

Orchis and Ben Urich, promised as Big Threats to our X-friends, but disappearing into the fringe at a moment’s notice? Frustrating.

I’m a huge fan of the Krakoa era’s Big Moves and relief from the exhaustion of always fighting anti-mutant forces from the back foot.

But maybe this is the problem - when the heroes are ALWAYS successful, maybe it siphons off just enough urgency to leave stories bumbling into each other?

I’m gonna give Duggan the credit he deserves - every scene is interesting and entertaining even if not essential. And the wrap to this volume is sufficiently satisfying to keep me interested in proceeding. Just wish I didn’t have the attention span of a goldfish.
]]> 201632584 Legendary writer Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Valerio Schiti dramatically tear down the established celestial hierarchy of the Marvel Universe, and build it back up with fantastic new purpose!

At the core of the Marvel Universe there exists a pantheon of omnipotent forces that shape the very building blocks of reality! Many of these strange beings have been around since the earliest days of Marvel Comics, but befitting their roles in the cosmos, their motives and natures have been beyond reach and comprehension� until now!

These cosmic entities have faithful servants that walk among us as members of two opposing factions: the powerful mystics of THE-POWERS-THAT-BE and the brilliant scientific minds of THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS. For eons, they’ve clashed and schemed with all of reality hanging in the balance until they formed a fragile pact - all part of a complex system that keeps the universe in balance.

But that system is more fragile than anyone would care to admit, and there’s some among them who desire nothing more but to see it shatter! Now, a mysterious rogue agent by the name of Cubisk Core has shattered that uneasy peace, and this secret war will come out of the shadows for the first time!

COLLECTING: G.O.D.S. (2023) 1-8; G.O.D.S. variants, bonus pages]]> 272 Jonathan Hickman 1302948598 Mike 0 3.73
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: on-deck-i-swear, ridiculously-excited
review:

]]> 210497216 Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion of the series from Eisner winner CHIP ZDARSKY (Batman, PUBLIC DOMAIN) and rising star JACOB PHILLIPS (THAT TEXAS BLOOD, THE ENFIELD GANG MASSACRE)!
Collects NEWBURN #9-16]]> 0 Chip Zdarsky 1534365133 Mike 0 to-read 4.05
author: Chip Zdarsky
name: Mike
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60723672
This new series from Eisner winner CHIP ZDARSKY (DAREDEVIL, SEX CRIMINALS) and rising star JACOB PHILLIPS (THAT TEXAS BLOOD) follows Newburn as he does jobs for every criminal organization in New York City, collecting enemies along the way.

Collects NEWBURN #1-8.]]> 176 Chip Zdarsky 1534322396 Mike 0 to-read 3.98 2022
author: Chip Zdarsky
name: Mike
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 178629888 Loki and Valkyrie seek redemption in the first adventure of an epic new multiversal series that reimagines the origins of iconic Marvel heroes.So many worlds, so little time. Infinite possibilities, creating infinite realities. Long have I watched the trickster god sow chaos. But . . . what if Loki saved Asgard from Tony Stark’s revenge? Thor—Son of Odin, God of Thunder, Wielder of Mjolnir—is dead. And Loki is responsible.  It was meant to be only a joke—tampering with the Destroyer, changing Thor’s course to Midgard—a bit of mischief with a chance of maiming. But Loki’s harmless prank spiraled out of control, unleashing death and destruction on New York City and the heroes sworn to protect it. The city was saved, at the cost of Thor’s life.  Furious and heartbroken, the All-Father banishes Loki to Earth for his crime. Loki finds himself in a realm of boxed wine, instant noodles, and some sort of regional performance troupe known as the “Buffalo Bills.� It’s a meager existence, far from Asgard’s grand courts, but he finds his new friend, Brian the Gecko, a much more engaging companion than the sycophants back home. It’s a true meeting of the minds.  Loki is the God of Mischief—but he knows, deep down, that he never truly deserved to stand next to their father’s golden child, Thor, as two true sons of Odin. Yet he cannot endure his exile in peaceful isolation. A Valkyrie—Hel-bent on carrying out her oath to Thor—barges into Loki’s trailer home with his brother’s final words from the a plea to find a certain Dr. Jane Foster and pass the hammer Mjolnir on to its rightful heir. While Loki struggles to fulfil his brother’s last request, the far-reaching consequences of his fatal prank return to haunt him. Blinded by grief over those he lost in the chaos wrought by Asgard, Iron Man vows revenge on those who consider themselves gods. Determined to protect Earth from the might of this unpredictable alien power, Stark forges Asgard’s own weaponry into a lethal suit of armor, set on eradicating any tether between their worlds—consequences be damned. When Asgard looks to Loki for salvation, he must answer the Am I truly worthy?]]> 320 Madeleine Roux 0593724364 Mike 0 to-read 4.12 2024
author: Madeleine Roux
name: Mike
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 210499003 Hit author Ryan North continues his ever-surprising FANTASTIC FOUR run!

The Fantastic Four join the Blood Hunt and face down the vampires sinking their teeth into the Marvel Universe! But for all the FF’s powers, can Mister Fantastic’s scientific abilities do any good against the dark mysticism of their unliving foes?

COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (2022) 18-22]]> 112 Ryan North 1302955993 Mike 0 to-read, ridiculously-excited 4.20
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves: to-read, ridiculously-excited
review:

]]> 58505899
COLLECTING: Marauders (2019) 22-27]]> 176 Gerry Duggan 1302927191 Mike 4 3.72 2022
author: Gerry Duggan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:

]]> 126011369 53 Jonathan Hickman Mike 0 currently-reading 4.24
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 173476243
The Illuminati, a secret group of the smartest heroes in Marvel, must form once again to stop the Maker from his plans to destroy � or perhaps rebuild � the universe, with Miles Morales at the center of it all! The Maker plans to make sure Earth’s Mightiest Heroes never become heroes at all. And then he can reshape the universe into exactly what he wants it to be�

Ultimate Invasion (2023) 1-4]]> 176 Jonathan Hickman 1302954849 Mike 5
Not just literally - pulling out his draftsman tools to shape the look and feel of whatever corner of a world he’s too dumb not to try to refactor and reformulate - but also in letting his imagination and BOLDNESS take the stories way beyond where any of the predecessors let it drift along the grey, moldy (moody?) tides.

And this one is just as big a task as he’s ever engaged - What If the Maker had a second chance? Who would he keep, who would he lock in carbonite? What would his ultimate world-in-his-image look like?

Pretty impressive if you ask me. I’ll definitely join for the ride, for however long he has the stomach to see this through. ]]> 3.65 2024
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves:
review:
Paying off the unpaid debts of the original Ultimate Universe - the one Hickman was called in late to try to rescue, but couldn’t un-fuck - is a pretty lofty goal from a guy I’ll accuse of being one of the most foundational architects in comics today.

Not just literally - pulling out his draftsman tools to shape the look and feel of whatever corner of a world he’s too dumb not to try to refactor and reformulate - but also in letting his imagination and BOLDNESS take the stories way beyond where any of the predecessors let it drift along the grey, moldy (moody?) tides.

And this one is just as big a task as he’s ever engaged - What If the Maker had a second chance? Who would he keep, who would he lock in carbonite? What would his ultimate world-in-his-image look like?

Pretty impressive if you ask me. I’ll definitely join for the ride, for however long he has the stomach to see this through.
]]> 215557053
The most surprising Spider-Man story of the 21st century! Visionary writer Jonathan Hickman (HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X) and acclaimed artist Marco Checchetto (DAREDEVIL) unite for a bold new take on Spider-Man at the dawn of the reimagined Ultimate Universe! After the events of ULTIMATE INVASION, the world needs a hero. Step forward, Peter Parker! But this is an older, wiser web-slinger - one who balances his costumed duties with his responsibilities as a husband and a father. That's right, Peter and Mary Jane are married with kids! The stakes have never been higher - and as Spider-Man faces his first super villain, J. Jonah Jameson's quest to uncover who's really pulling the strings of this new Ultimate Universe leads to a shocking revelation! New York City welcomes its newest hero…the Green Goblin! But who's behind the mask? And what does the Goblin know of the true status of the world in which he lives?]]> Jonathan Hickman 1302529781 Mike 5 ridiculously-excited
Oh my god. How is this the comic I’ve been missing from my life, and I didn’t even know to ask?

Yes it tugs on the classic threads. Bugle photographer, green goblin, kingpin, JJJ, MJ, Harry�

But it freshens them up in a way that makes this totally readable - enjoyable and fun and not at all the slog of “Parker never gets ahead �cause he’s the universe’s punching bag�.

And maybe once Hickman hands it off it’ll drift slowly into the same ol formula. But what if it didn’t? What if this took over from Bendis� incredible, life-altering run in a similar way, and all of the complaints about how 616 Spidey has sucked for too long just faded into the universal background radiation?

Sign me up for more of Spidey talking to his *family* about his problems, rather than airing out his grievances with the villain-of-the-week. I could use some of that influence in my life. ]]> 4.60 2024
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: ridiculously-excited
review:
Jonah for Justice. Ben is alive. Dat first issue’s “call to adventure�.

Oh my god. How is this the comic I’ve been missing from my life, and I didn’t even know to ask?

Yes it tugs on the classic threads. Bugle photographer, green goblin, kingpin, JJJ, MJ, Harry�

But it freshens them up in a way that makes this totally readable - enjoyable and fun and not at all the slog of “Parker never gets ahead �cause he’s the universe’s punching bag�.

And maybe once Hickman hands it off it’ll drift slowly into the same ol formula. But what if it didn’t? What if this took over from Bendis� incredible, life-altering run in a similar way, and all of the complaints about how 616 Spidey has sucked for too long just faded into the universal background radiation?

Sign me up for more of Spidey talking to his *family* about his problems, rather than airing out his grievances with the villain-of-the-week. I could use some of that influence in my life.
]]> 217045738
Spider-Man faces the Sinister Six! After their intense battle with the Kingpin, Green Goblin and Spider-Man both know they aren't as ready to reshape the world as they hoped. Harry and Peter get to work, while Ben and Jonah search for "the truth" - and problems for their resistance arise when the Ultimates return! But they're not the only team in town: The Kingpin has gathered six sinister super villains to deal with his masked-vigilante problem! But who, exactly, are the Ultimate Sinister Six? You won't possibly guess them all - but would you believe that Parker luck, one of them is the Black Cat! Meanwhile, Green Goblin joins forces with…Doc Ock?! And with Tony Stark back, Peter must also explore his new suit's limitations.]]> 152 Jonathan Hickman 1302958283 Mike 0 to-read 4.42 2025
author: Jonathan Hickman
name: Mike
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 207299925
With the press of a button, Gabriel Winter changed the world. As his closest friends reckon with the consequences, Special Agent Siobhan Silk must unravel what set all of this in motion 25 years ago in Palo Alto...and attempt to uncover the origin of PH34R.

Collects W0RLDTR33 #6-11]]> 176 James Tynion IV 1534379290 Mike 0 to-read 4.05 2024
author: James Tynion IV
name: Mike
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201862593 168 James Tynion IV 1534347046 Mike 0 to-read, found-via-goodreads 4.24 2023
author: James Tynion IV
name: Mike
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read, found-via-goodreads
review:

]]> 56791389 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BKGYQXW


The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.]]> 446 Matt Dinniman Mike 0 to-read, god-do-i-hate-prose 4.49 2020
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Mike
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read, god-do-i-hate-prose
review:

]]> 26030885
COLLECTING: SIEGE 1-4, UNCANNY X-MEN (2011) 9-10]]> 144 Kieron Gillen 0785195491 Mike 5

Yeah baby you said it - gimme more Abigail Brand. There's a character who hasn't been nearly used enough to my liking.

She's sarcastic:



And draws those around her who share that sarcastic gene:



And in the face of the kinds of unwinnable fights they're facing, it's only natural:



This is exactly the setting where Abigail does her best work - and it sure doesn't hurt Kieron Gillen's chances either. I just want to gorge myself on this endless fun.

Even when it's endlessly, depressingly never-going-to-end-battles "fun":





This is at the same time a desolate, depressing book *AND* a funny, sardonic, engaging ride. And one worth looking at closely. While the Andrade art looks rushed - or at least stylistically "open" - the double-page spreads by guest artists are horrifying in their detail of the monsters beyond the Wall:



Gillen and Andrade work in a ton of subtle cameos and references, without making it too obvious or deadening who's there or why. Just happens to increase the fun factor for me, who's followed so much of this over the years.

Nice touch: [spoilers removed]

Best part of this book? The hope that some small measure of its outcome feeds back into the parent Secret Wars story.

That would be something at least.]]> 3.35 2016
author: Kieron Gillen
name: Mike
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/05
shelves: better-than-it-deserves-to-be, read-on-marvel-unlimited, intend-to-reread, found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:


Yeah baby you said it - gimme more Abigail Brand. There's a character who hasn't been nearly used enough to my liking.

She's sarcastic:



And draws those around her who share that sarcastic gene:



And in the face of the kinds of unwinnable fights they're facing, it's only natural:



This is exactly the setting where Abigail does her best work - and it sure doesn't hurt Kieron Gillen's chances either. I just want to gorge myself on this endless fun.

Even when it's endlessly, depressingly never-going-to-end-battles "fun":





This is at the same time a desolate, depressing book *AND* a funny, sardonic, engaging ride. And one worth looking at closely. While the Andrade art looks rushed - or at least stylistically "open" - the double-page spreads by guest artists are horrifying in their detail of the monsters beyond the Wall:



Gillen and Andrade work in a ton of subtle cameos and references, without making it too obvious or deadening who's there or why. Just happens to increase the fun factor for me, who's followed so much of this over the years.

Nice touch: [spoilers removed]

Best part of this book? The hope that some small measure of its outcome feeds back into the parent Secret Wars story.

That would be something at least.
]]> 49617446
COLLECTING: THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL 47-50]]> 112 Ryan North 1302917242 Mike 0 to-read 4.53 2020
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 44024173
And if that isn't cosmic enough for you, what would you say to Squirrel Girl jumping head-first into the War of the Realms?! When Doreen's good pal Loki recruits her as part of a secret mission, you might wonder if he's up to something. And he probably is - he's the God of Lies, after all. But this isn't Doreen's first Asgardian rodeo! Get ready to experience Squirrel Girl's first big event crossover - and don't miss the shocking reveal that's been in the works for literal years!

Collects The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #42-46.]]> 128 Ryan North 1302914480 Mike 0 to-read 4.21 2019
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40943766
Collecting The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 37-41.]]> 128 Ryan North 1302914472 Mike 0 to-read 4.21 2019
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 39739187
But when Squirrel Girl and Nancy gather Koi Boi, Chipmunk Hunk, Brain Drain and Kraven the Hunter inside and lock the door, it turns out that this escape room is actually lethal after all! Can Doreen and company escape? Find out, why don't you?! It's everything you crave from a Squirrel Girl book: friendship, adventure and a room full of death traps!

Collects The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #32-36.]]> 128 Ryan North 1302910779 Mike 0 to-read 4.24 2018
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 37488200 COLLECTING: THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL 27-31]]> 128 Ryan North 1302910760 Mike 0 to-read 4.35 2018
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 35605132
COLLECTING: THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL (2015B) 22-26
]]> 144 Ryan North 1302906658 Mike 0 to-read 4.28 2018
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 75437102
Captain Carol Freeman leads her crew on an expedition aimed to build bridges and advance Federation technology, but she and the away team quickly suspect that the planet and its people are not all what they seem� Meanwhile, the crew in the lower decks take to the holodeck for some much-needed recreational time—until a bloodthirsty visitor decides to join in on their games. Can Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, and Rutherford save the ship from the likes of Dracula?

Star Trek: Lower Decks unites New York Times-bestselling and Eisner-winning writer Ryan North (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) and comics artist extraordinaire Chris Fenoglio (Goosebumps, Star Wars Adventures).]]> 120 Ryan North Mike 0 4.17
author: Ryan North
name: Mike
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax, on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 30640178 23 Walter Simonson Mike 4 found-via-war-rocket-ajax 4.25 1985
author: Walter Simonson
name: Mike
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:

]]> 124045263
Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2022) #24-26, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (2023) #1, FALLEN FRIEND #1 .]]> 176 Zeb Wells 1302947389 Mike 3 2.85 2023
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 2.85
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 138378645
First, two of Spider-Man's villains are plotting the deadliest team-up he's ever had to face. But are they after Peter Parker? Or is he just in the way of something bigger? The answers await in Spidey's first hunt! But when the unexpected consequences of his actions are fully felt, will New York ever look at the web-slinger in the same way again? Then, just when things are getting too heavy, the amazing Rek-Rap returns! Spider-Man's bizarre fun-house reflection might just be the thing to drag the wall-crawler out of the shadows he seems trapped in. Well, that is, Rek-Rap might be able to help...if he weren't being targeted by the most frightening new Spidey villain in decades.

Collecting Amazing Spider-Man (2022) 32-38.]]> 160 Zeb Wells 1302953443 Mike 4
So the Kraven story made me feel clued in AND really quite stressed for Norman, all at the same time. Like, he’s supposed to re-inherit his Crazy, and this is how he finally loses his redemption - Kraven stabs him with a spear “filled� with his sins? I mean, Kraven be Kraven and all - don’t fault him for staying true to a gimmick - but this is one of the lamest ways to revert-to-baseline in comics.

So I’m glad it didn’t work, and instead got Spidey all hepped up on Goblin. Nice to let Parker’s rage off the chain every hundred issues or so.

Rek-Rap is an enigma I can’t quite unwind. Is he actually funny? Is he a Cancel Culture campaign five years too early? Or is he just discount Deadpool, deep discount?

Taking Spidey back to limbo may have just been completely worth it for the image of Spider-man “Ptoo�-ed out of a demonic anus.

And the Garth Ennis-worthy climactic end the the Final Boss battle was a great homage. (When you see it you’ll know.)

I’m kinda intrigued what possible new stories we can get out of the upcoming Gang War event - like, “competing gangs in the city� has gone beyond mere trope and ossified into pure background noise, especially in “street-level� comics. Are too-vaguely-coded-Italian-mob-bosses just the last acceptable class of villain, no repudiating necessary? We’re down to the only safe villains being mobsters, robots and unintelligible non-bipedal space aliens?]]> 3.16 2024
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 3.16
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves:
review:
First of all, I had no freakin idea how Norman Osborn stopped being crazy. Had to admit, Sin Eater is the obvious source for a subplot like this, I shoulda guessed if only I wasn’t expecting something stupidly convoluted.

So the Kraven story made me feel clued in AND really quite stressed for Norman, all at the same time. Like, he’s supposed to re-inherit his Crazy, and this is how he finally loses his redemption - Kraven stabs him with a spear “filled� with his sins? I mean, Kraven be Kraven and all - don’t fault him for staying true to a gimmick - but this is one of the lamest ways to revert-to-baseline in comics.

So I’m glad it didn’t work, and instead got Spidey all hepped up on Goblin. Nice to let Parker’s rage off the chain every hundred issues or so.

Rek-Rap is an enigma I can’t quite unwind. Is he actually funny? Is he a Cancel Culture campaign five years too early? Or is he just discount Deadpool, deep discount?

Taking Spidey back to limbo may have just been completely worth it for the image of Spider-man “Ptoo�-ed out of a demonic anus.

And the Garth Ennis-worthy climactic end the the Final Boss battle was a great homage. (When you see it you’ll know.)

I’m kinda intrigued what possible new stories we can get out of the upcoming Gang War event - like, “competing gangs in the city� has gone beyond mere trope and ossified into pure background noise, especially in “street-level� comics. Are too-vaguely-coded-Italian-mob-bosses just the last acceptable class of villain, no repudiating necessary? We’re down to the only safe villains being mobsters, robots and unintelligible non-bipedal space aliens?
]]> 123858215 184 Zeb Wells 1302947397 Mike 3
Otto is back, with an unexpected grade to his arms - and a serious grudge against both Norman and Spidey!

Is there anything better than a classic Spidey villain, getting his ass kicked in pursuit of a better solution (cause Peter can’t ever do heroing on Easy Mode)?

Unfortunate that the Kamala death (and inevitable rebirth) was shoehorned in here. Not that Spidey tales can’t do serious matters - but because I seriously don’t remember Kamala being an ongoing guest star in this book before now. (Probably would help if I read the preceding stories something *this* year.)

The wedding issue was fine - a little zany, a little touching, not over the top. Then filled with ads for Nick Lowe’s other books, disguised as an 86-page issue “with lots of bonus stories�. I hate that even the Spider-man line editor can’t help but cross-promote such that an oversized issue was just a regular issue with stuff I’d probably see on Reddit anyway (if it was worth reading).]]> 3.26
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 3.26
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
review:
A sufficient amount of Dolt-ing commenced.

Otto is back, with an unexpected grade to his arms - and a serious grudge against both Norman and Spidey!

Is there anything better than a classic Spidey villain, getting his ass kicked in pursuit of a better solution (cause Peter can’t ever do heroing on Easy Mode)?

Unfortunate that the Kamala death (and inevitable rebirth) was shoehorned in here. Not that Spidey tales can’t do serious matters - but because I seriously don’t remember Kamala being an ongoing guest star in this book before now. (Probably would help if I read the preceding stories something *this* year.)

The wedding issue was fine - a little zany, a little touching, not over the top. Then filled with ads for Nick Lowe’s other books, disguised as an 86-page issue “with lots of bonus stories�. I hate that even the Spider-man line editor can’t help but cross-promote such that an oversized issue was just a regular issue with stuff I’d probably see on Reddit anyway (if it was worth reading).
]]> 210499025 168 Zeb Wells 1302954628 Mike 0 to-read 3.01
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 3.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 210499040 136 Zeb Wells 130295461X Mike 0 to-read 2.92
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 2.92
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195367902
Collecting Spider-Woman (2023) #1-5 and material from Spider-Man (2022) #31.]]> 136 Steve Foxe 1302957139 Mike 0 on-deck-i-swear 3.39
author: Steve Foxe
name: Mike
average rating: 3.39
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: on-deck-i-swear
review:

]]> 201642374 In her most imaginative novel yet, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: Retired super hero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect.�

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins� new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.]]> 384 Lisa Jewell 1368099637 Mike 0 to-read 3.75 2024
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 176729896
Bamf! Thwip! Escaping the turmoil of FALL OF X in a flash of smoke and brimstone, it’s time for Nightcrawler to come out web-swinging as the swashbuckling, devil-may-care hero he was always destined to be! A potential new lover…battling some of the most iconic members of Spidey’s rogues gallery…hanging out with other web-slingers…and saving civilians, mutant and human alike � Kurt is having the time of his life! But it’s not all fun and games. Nightcrawler can’t ignore the mutant plight forever. And throughout it all, he must confront a long-simmering mystery surrounding his mother, Mystique! Si Spurrier and Lee Garbett launch a joyful, sexy series that will shake Nightcrawler to his foundations � and have a hell of a good time doing it!

Uncanny Spider-Man (2023) 1-5]]> 184 Simon Spurrier 1302952269 Mike 0 to-read 3.91
author: Simon Spurrier
name: Mike
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 5367129 176 Karl Kesel 0785132643 Mike 0 3.21 2009
author: Karl Kesel
name: Mike
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: currently-reading, found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:

]]> 63187173 120 Zeb Wells 1302947370 Mike 4
Kinda have no clear idea what the through line of this trade’s worth of story was about.

The only part that’s clear is me seeing how all the Paul controversy finally got blunted in these very issues.

Yes. At least he turned out to be somewhat important, and not just some inconsequential red shirt. And the callback to one *ancient* throwaway villain is a nice touch. Got some interesting mythology that Wells & JRJR are deftly turning into a Big Problem for Spidey.

So I’m thinking I’m back in (with no apologies to John Wick).]]> 2.86
author: Zeb Wells
name: Mike
average rating: 2.86
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves:
review:
Man, took me long enough. Read a couple of issues six months ago, finished the rest today.

Kinda have no clear idea what the through line of this trade’s worth of story was about.

The only part that’s clear is me seeing how all the Paul controversy finally got blunted in these very issues.

Yes. At least he turned out to be somewhat important, and not just some inconsequential red shirt. And the callback to one *ancient* throwaway villain is a nice touch. Got some interesting mythology that Wells & JRJR are deftly turning into a Big Problem for Spidey.

So I’m thinking I’m back in (with no apologies to John Wick).
]]> 300887 176 Kevin Smith 0785110798 Mike 2
Dodsons� tendencies to gratuitous cleavage and gluteal panels�

Smith’s penchant for meh pop culture references and lazy internalised-patriarchy-inspired jokes� (“girl-on-girl action� was really the best wordsmithing you could do my fellow Gen Xer?)

A story where Parker isn’t putting up any fight to stay away from the Black Cat who’s actively jeopardising his marriage�

A story that swerves hard into some white knight nonsense after issue 3 (and after three issues of establishing a throwaway, overly-sexualised consequence-free tone). Fun or floridly serious? Read either three issue sub-run if you like one but not the other.

Then wedging both a sexual assault *and* a new assault-derived origin story into this book, with no artful foreshadowing (let alone connectivity to any other story before this significant retcon)?

And sadly I gotta call out the info-dumping monologues in these latter issues. Turgid not to mention written about as conventionally straight and boring to boot. If you’re gonna make me read something long and dreary at least bust out the thesaurus or some clever way to drum up some spark. This is just earnest scribblings, I-can-do-serious-too seethings. Hardly the work to prove the bona fides of a wordsmith.

If I hadn’t got interested in this from an online snippet of one of the only good panels in the whole book, I think I could’ve managed plenty fine dying without having endured this.]]> 3.89 2007
author: Kevin Smith
name: Mike
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: anti-recommendation, less-fun-than-it-should-be, oh-well-onwards
review:
With apologies to the “fond memories� faction, but this book hasn’t aged particularly well.

Dodsons� tendencies to gratuitous cleavage and gluteal panels�

Smith’s penchant for meh pop culture references and lazy internalised-patriarchy-inspired jokes� (“girl-on-girl action� was really the best wordsmithing you could do my fellow Gen Xer?)

A story where Parker isn’t putting up any fight to stay away from the Black Cat who’s actively jeopardising his marriage�

A story that swerves hard into some white knight nonsense after issue 3 (and after three issues of establishing a throwaway, overly-sexualised consequence-free tone). Fun or floridly serious? Read either three issue sub-run if you like one but not the other.

Then wedging both a sexual assault *and* a new assault-derived origin story into this book, with no artful foreshadowing (let alone connectivity to any other story before this significant retcon)?

And sadly I gotta call out the info-dumping monologues in these latter issues. Turgid not to mention written about as conventionally straight and boring to boot. If you’re gonna make me read something long and dreary at least bust out the thesaurus or some clever way to drum up some spark. This is just earnest scribblings, I-can-do-serious-too seethings. Hardly the work to prove the bona fides of a wordsmith.

If I hadn’t got interested in this from an online snippet of one of the only good panels in the whole book, I think I could’ve managed plenty fine dying without having endured this.
]]> 31308425 171 Diana Larsen 1680501968 Mike 0 to-read, found-via-meetups 4.00 2011
author: Diana Larsen
name: Mike
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read, found-via-meetups
review:

]]> 24611735 〶Ä
We all have to endure failure from time to time, whether it’s underperforming at a job interview, flunking an exam, or losing a pickup basketball game. But for people working in safety-critical industries, getting it wrong can have deadly consequences. Consider the shocking fact that preventable medical error is the third-biggest killer in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths every year. More people die from mistakes made by doctors and hospitals than from traffic accidents. And most of those mistakes are never made public, because of malpractice settlements with nondisclosure clauses.

For a dramatically different approach to failure, look at aviation. Every passenger aircraft in the world is equipped with an almost indestructible black box. Whenever there’s any sort of mishap, major or minor, the box is opened, the data is analyzed, and experts figure out exactly what went wrong. Then the facts are published and procedures are changed, so that the same mistakes won’t happen again. By applying this method in recent decades, the industry has created an astonishingly good safety record.

Few of us put lives at risk in our daily work as surgeons and pilots do, but we all have a strong interest in avoiding predictable and preventable errors. So why don’t we all embrace the aviation approach to failure rather than the health-care approach? As Matthew Syed shows in this eye-opening book, the answer is rooted in human psychology and organizational culture.

Syed argues that the most important determinant of success in any field is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it. Yet most of us are stuck in a relationship with failure that impedes progress, halts innovation, and damages our careers and personal lives. We rarely acknowledge or learn from failure—even though we often claim the opposite. We think we have 20/20 hindsight, but our vision is usually fuzzy.

Syed draws on a wide range of sources—from anthropology and psychology to history and complexity theory—to explore the subtle but predictable patterns of human error and our defensive responses to error. He also shares fascinating stories of individuals and organizations that have successfully embraced a black box approach to improvement, such as David Beckham, the Mercedes F1 team, and Dropbox.]]> 336 Matthew Syed 1591848229 Mike 0 to-read 4.27 2015
author: Matthew Syed
name: Mike
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201306695 In her most imaginative novel yet, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: Retired super hero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect.�

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins� new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.]]> 384 Lisa Jewell 1368090125 Mike 0 to-read 3.61 2024
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 991634
While fleeing a hit man through the deserted alleys of Denver, a bullet clips Thomas Hunter's head. He escapes with his life, but later passes out from his wounds . . . and his world is swallowed by black.

From the dark comes an amazing reality of another world--a world where evil is contained. A world where Thomas is in love with a beautiful woman. A world that stands on the brink of annihilation.

Where does the dream end and reality begin? Every time he falls asleep in one world, he awakens in the other--each facing unimaginable evil, an each with a fate unknowingly tied to the other.

Some say the world hangs in the balance of every choice we make. Now the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man's choice.

That is, if he can live to see the end of the day.]]> 136 Ted Dekker 0979590000 Mike 2 3.98
author: Ted Dekker
name: Mike
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 188049545
After facing off against the Brood with the X-Men and losing someone she holds dear, Carol Danvers needs a break. But she’s not about to get it now! A slinky new cosmic threat comes for Earth’s Mightiest, and they know just who to recruit to really wreck Carol’s world � a surprise legacy villain! So when the disgruntled Nitro transports Captain Marvel, baby Gerry, Chewie the Flerken and some cantankerous Luddite troublemakers to a strange planet, Spider-Woman � Gerry’s mom � is left in a panic! As the mismatched group figures out how to get along and survive, Jessica Drew desperately seeks out help from some of Earth’s greatest heroes!

Captain Dark Tempest (2023) 1-5]]> 120 Ann Nocenti 1302951211 Mike 0 no-interest-whatsoever 2.55 2023
author: Ann Nocenti
name: Mike
average rating: 2.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: no-interest-whatsoever
review:

]]> 14539948
Darwyn Cooke, Eisner-Award winning creator of DC: The New Frontier, continues adapting Richard Stark's genre-defining Parker novels with his signature pulp flair in this third installment. A hard-nosed thief, Parker is Richard Stark's most famous creation, and Stark, in turn, is the most famous pen name of Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Donald E. Westlake.]]> 160 Darwyn Cooke 1613772084 Mike 0 owned-but-unread, to-read 4.30 2012
author: Darwyn Cooke
name: Mike
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: owned-but-unread, to-read
review:

]]> 23692271 512 Yuval Noah Harari Mike 0 4.34 2011
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Mike
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: to-read, not-comics, repeat-recommendation
review:

]]> 210971432 42 Erica Henderson Mike 0 3.74
author: Erica Henderson
name: Mike
average rating: 3.74
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: found-via-war-rocket-ajax, on-deck-i-swear, ridiculously-excited
review:

]]> 125086691
JED MACKAY AND STORMBREAKER C.F. VILLA TAKE THE REINS OF EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES! The Star. The Icon. The Witch. The Construct. The God. The Engineer. The King. The world is ever in peril, and a new team of Avengers mobilizes to meet any dangers that dare threaten the planet. But when TERMINUS attacks, a new and insidious danger rears its one that the Avengers know all too well, and one that comes to them in the most dangerous of guises - that of a friend.


Avengers (2023) #1-6 and Timeless (2022) #1]]> 192 Jed MacKay 1302947699 Mike 0 3.71 2024
author: Jed MacKay
name: Mike
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: to-read, found-via-war-rocket-ajax
review:

]]> 51507691 22 Jack Kirby Mike 0 to-read, found-via-goodreads 3.50 1973
author: Jack Kirby
name: Mike
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/06
shelves: to-read, found-via-goodreads
review:

]]> 270542 144 Brian K. Vaughan 0785110585 Mike 0 to-read, found-via-goodreads 3.54 2003
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves: to-read, found-via-goodreads
review:

]]> 126011236
Collects DEADPOOL (2022) #1-5 and material from NEW MUTANTS (2019) #30.]]> 160 Alyssa Wong 1302524569 Mike 3 found-via-goodreads
But the jokes seem…tame. First draft-y? Needs a writer’s room? Like season 6 of Supernatural level of weak tea? Not that they’re bad, but I’m so used to such sharp writing in the few entertainments I enjoy (early Archer, early R&M, any season of Harley Quinn, that amazing season of Shrinking) that any “normal�/PG-13 humour just doesn’t jolt me out of my crusty undies at the moment.

I find the romance subplot a little forced - like, he’s found his soulmate after one brief encounter, and then acts thirsty-thirsty for the rest of the book - like Pepe LePew, dreaming of that kiss ever after? I want to like the non-binary romancee, and they at least have a spark of personality. I hope this gets fleshed out further so it doesn’t seem so middle-school-crush. ]]> 3.79 2023
author: Alyssa Wong
name: Mike
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/29
date added: 2024/06/29
shelves: found-via-goodreads
review:
Stupid I like. Deadpool is definitely back in the “brain damaged or just moronic� category. Which is as it should be.

But the jokes seem…tame. First draft-y? Needs a writer’s room? Like season 6 of Supernatural level of weak tea? Not that they’re bad, but I’m so used to such sharp writing in the few entertainments I enjoy (early Archer, early R&M, any season of Harley Quinn, that amazing season of Shrinking) that any “normal�/PG-13 humour just doesn’t jolt me out of my crusty undies at the moment.

I find the romance subplot a little forced - like, he’s found his soulmate after one brief encounter, and then acts thirsty-thirsty for the rest of the book - like Pepe LePew, dreaming of that kiss ever after? I want to like the non-binary romancee, and they at least have a spark of personality. I hope this gets fleshed out further so it doesn’t seem so middle-school-crush.
]]> 29456840 21 Stan Lee Mike 0 currently-reading 3.55
author: Stan Lee
name: Mike
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 15789282 COLLECTING: FURY MAX 1-6]]> 144 Garth Ennis 0785157778 Mike 0 4.03 2012
author: Garth Ennis
name: Mike
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/23
shelves: found-via-goodreads, to-read, borrowed-from-library, repeat-recommendation
review:

]]> 58505916 The morning after the Hellfire Gala!

The party is over, but not all the guests have gone home. Victor Von Doom is staying for dinner. And he’s begun chatting to a very old friend in a very new setting. Chatting about thrones, empires, magic, Mysterium…and the cosmic chaos of the Last Annihilation! Meanwhile, now that the X-Men have gone interplanetary and the central seat of Arakko has been claimed, everyone knows who speaks for Sol. Storm rules! But when you have to prove to your people who you are, every single day without fail…what eventually becomes of who you once were?

COLLECTING: S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #7-11, Cable: Reloaded (2021) #1]]> 176 Al Ewing 1302931466 Mike 4 dawn-of-x
But am I ready to dive into whatever Al Ewing cooked up after this? Fook yeah. Ewing for president of the Quiet Council. I’ll even put a campaign sign on my lawn. ]]> 3.66 2022
author: Al Ewing
name: Mike
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: dawn-of-x
review:
Well ain’t Al Ewing a clever writer? That was both fun *and* chock full of clever writing that I didn’t expect out of this book(no spoilers). (Not that i can remember what the previous volume was about - god is it hard to swallow this Krakoa line of comics whole, when I can hardly remember from month to month what misadventures I just read. Like the recap pages aren’t even enough to keep me tuned in - can I get page-by-page recaps? Is this what AI will be able to do for me? Can I just offload all my reading tasks and bask in the glory of comics, like Neo learning kung-fu?)

But am I ready to dive into whatever Al Ewing cooked up after this? Fook yeah. Ewing for president of the Quiet Council. I’ll even put a campaign sign on my lawn.
]]> 102252533 144 Alyssa Wong 130293029X Mike 0 to-read 3.82 2023
author: Alyssa Wong
name: Mike
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 39739221 COLLECTING: DOMINO 1-6]]> 136 Gail Simone 1302912984 Mike 4
But (a) when did this Inez become a character, (b) did Amadeus Cho ever know Domino before this (and why do I care?) and (b) when did Amadeus get a sister?

Have I just been paying so little attention to the B-level players?]]> 3.80 2018
author: Gail Simone
name: Mike
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves:
review:
Fun enough, sassy lines, plenty of ass-kicking and a feeling like our anti-hero has people who care about her. Excellent.

But (a) when did this Inez become a character, (b) did Amadeus Cho ever know Domino before this (and why do I care?) and (b) when did Amadeus get a sister?

Have I just been paying so little attention to the B-level players?
]]> 210499050
The X-Men's last stand! As the chaos of mutantkind's fight back against their fall at the hands of Orchis rages in FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X, other forgotten foes come out of the woodwork to take on the X-Men in their time of peril! Synch and Talon find themselves once more besieged by the High Evolutionary and his creations to reap the consequences of their last encounter - and the results will be devastating! Then Nimrod shows just why the X-Men lived in fear of its creation! The ultimate weapon of mutant extinction is ever-adapting, ever-evolving, with only one death to mutantkind! But with the end nigh, Kate Pryde and Illyana Rasputin fight side by side - blades in hand! And the X-Men assemble for what might be the last battle of the heroes of Krakoa!]]> 136 Gerry Duggan 130295721X Mike 0 to-read 3.44
author: Gerry Duggan
name: Mike
average rating: 3.44
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42994027
Now she's back from the dead, angry as hell, and finding those better angels harder and harder to hear. Jen and Sylvia Soska - The Twisted Twins of horror - join with rising artist Flaviano to weave a web of vice, violence, and vengeance that will net Natasha the biggest bad men she's ever faced... or put her back in the ground for good.

Collects Black Widow (2019) #1-5.]]> 112 Jen Soska 1302916734 Mike 0 to-read, found-via-goodreads 3.85 2019
author: Jen Soska
name: Mike
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves: to-read, found-via-goodreads
review:

]]>