"Reading through this volume containing short adventure after short adventure featuring Ben Grimm and a rotating cast of Marvel mainstays old and new was a labour of love. Quality was all over the proverbial map, so instead of typing out any kind of coherent review I think I'll just post a few of my favourite panels and covers for your consideration.































MAKE MINE MARVEL!
"

"Miriam Black book one - What would you do, if you could see how, and exactly when, someone was going to die, just by touching them? Well Miriam Black has that special talent, but uses it to rob the corpses of people who die alone! But that's just her current role. Miriam Black is a chain-smoking, potty mouthed, hears and sees voices in her head, abysmal childhood suffering drifter, who lives on, and in between, the highways of the American Mid-West.

Marian discovers that most people just die of 'old people diseases', but to her dismay she touches someone she has just grown to actually care about, and finds out that they'll be murdered within 14 days, stabbed in both eyes by a rusty knife, by a hairless guy with no eye lashes of eyebrows; oh, and they'll cry out a single world whilst peering into the shadows, they'll say: "Miriam?"

Miriam black who is the anti-heroes' anti-hero, is torn. How can she help? Can she change fate? A person's gonna die when they're gonna die, right? Wendig's innovative, scintillating, part hilarious and part horrifying tale, takes you on a tour of highways, motels, murders, foreseen deaths, drug dealing, rough-sex hook-ups and lots of bad-ass potty mouth-ery is a gift that just keeps on giving, so much, here am I reading it for the fourth time! Miriam Black is like Debra from the TV show Dexter trapped in a lift with a paedophile wearing bunny ears, a sleazy man in a string vest and a male commodities broker wearing booty shorts, for eternity!

Blackbirds is also very well written, with some great non-linear plotting, and a slew of well-thought out and mostly 'strange' characters, and some very cool and not-very-subtle use of avian psychopomps (see book title). The only negatives for me were Miriam is so obviously a male writer creation; and the dream/inner mind sequences that were too numerous in my opinion; and some of the plot resolutions were a bit naff. Overall though an easy Four Stars, 9 out of 12, and have total commitment to reading the entire series.

2025, 2023, 2020 and 2017 read"

"When the Moon Hits Your Eye
By John Scalzi
This is a short book but packed full of craziness of a full novel! I mean this in the most positive way. I enjoyed every weird thing about this.
It's hard to review without giving something away. I want people to experience this book fresh.
What I will tell you is that something extraordinary happens all over the world. Then they find it's because of the moon. Then it gets worse.
The story is told through several people as the different stages happen. I was hooked.
It does have a happy ending for earth, but the explanation does not explain the very first stage. So, the book keeps you wondering. I can't tell you how much I love this book!
The wonderful characters, the plot, the scifi/fantasy, the humor, the heartbreak, and the brilliant absurdity!
I want to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this fascinating book!"