Review: The James Bond Omnibus, Volume 004

Since his creation in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, James Bond has become an international pop culture icon. Over the course of his 59-year career as a member of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Agent 007 has appeared in books, films, television, video games, and even comic strips.

Titan Books, our friend who brought us The Complete Flash Gordon Library, has been compiling the newspaper adventures of James Bond in The James Bond Omnibus, a multi-volume series featuring the black-and-white comic strips that appeared in British newspapers from 1957 to 1983. Their latest volume collects 9 stories written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Yaroslav Horak, originally published in the Daily Express from December 1971 to July 1975.

Even in the panels of newspaper comic strips, the action, intrigue, and sex that makes the Bond name what it is comes alive. Jim Lawrence creates original tales that fall right in line with the original writings of Ian Fleming. While not the classic missions like "Dr. No" or "Live and Let Die", which later found prominence as Bond films as well, stories like "Trouble Spot" and "The Nevsky Nude" could very well have been part of the literary or film series....and the gadgets, guns, and girls help too.

Yaroslav Horak's artwork, while limited to black-and-white, is sharp and dynamic, featuring a chiseled, rugged look for Agent 007, creating a unique look for the character, yet managing to blend a Lazenby/Moore hybrid at times. Appropriately odd-looking villains are accompanied by equally lovely ladies, adding "color" to an otherwise monochromatic medium. Speeding cars, crashing planes, and judo flips keep the action rolling as your attention seamlessly moves from panel to panel and strip to strip.

Lawrence and Horak make a fine team as they bring Bond to this format, following closely on the heels of Ian Fleming and comic artist John McLusky. Any hardcore 007 fan should have this and the companion volumes on their shelf alongside Fleming's novels and the James Bond films.

The James Bond Omnibus, Volume 004 includes Trouble Spot, Isle of Condors, The League of Vampires, Die With My Boots On, The Girl Machine, Beware of Butterflies, The Nevsky Nude, The Phoenix Project, and The Black Ruby Caper. Volume 004 is available now, and be sure to check out Volumes 001, 002, and 003 from Titan Books.

Review: The Complete Flash Gordon Library, Volume 1 - On the Planet Mongo

If someone were to mention the name Flash Gordon, there's a good chance your first thought would be of Sam J. Jones battling alongside a bunch of Hawkmen while Freddie Mercury's magnificent voice accompanied the action. But before the 1980 cult classic, and before what all of us know as modern day science fiction film, television, and comics, Flash Gordon appeared in the premiere fantasy medium of the 1930s - the comic strip.

Originally created by Alex Raymond in 1934 as competition against the successful Buck Rogers series, Flash Gordon's popularity and influence has resonated across the medium of science fiction for the better part of a century. Without him, there would probably be no Battlestar Galactica, no Stargate, no Farscape, no Babylon 5, and certainly no Star Wars. (George Lucas has stated that the Flash Gordon movie serials he watched as a boy were his inspiration for the adventures of Luke Skywalker) Even science fiction juggernaut Star Trek has payed homage to Flash in the form of Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Proton. After decades of serials, television and radio shows, comics, and a feature film, the spectacular adventures of this inspirational character are now collected by Titan Books in the first volume of The Complete Flash Gordon Library: On the Planet Mongo.

Collecting the Sunday comic strips from 1934 to 1937, this compendium chronicles Flash Gordon's exploits on the planet Mongo as he and companion Dale Arden battle the evil Emperor, Ming the Merciless. Holding nothing back, Alex Raymond's comic strips portray exciting action, captivating drama, and even throw in a dash of sexy here and there. Raymond's gorgeous art still holds up to this day, even rivaling the work of modern day comic artists at times. As the strips progress from year to year, the evolution of Raymond's art is noticeable. Strips from 1934 evoke memories of pages from Action Comics and Batman (which would not appear until several years later), while panels from 1937 showcase beautiful detail in images of giant lizards, speeding rockets, and alien landscapes. Even in a hardcover volume, you cannot help but feel as if you're flipping the pages of a newspaper, eager to see the next vibrant panel.

The collection also features an introduction by renowned artist Alex Ross, who gives his own brief history of the character and credits Flash (rightfully so) as the inspiration for modern day comic book superheroes. When comparing Siegel and Shuster's portrayal of Krypton to that of Mongo, Ross states, "It might be said, for metaphorical purposes, that Superman was the son of Flash Gordon."

You don't have to be a Flash Gordon fan to appreciate this collection. You don't even have to be a science fiction or comic fan. The art is beautiful, the stories are entertaining, and the legacy of an entire genre is present in this volume. I'd say that's enough to garner enjoyment and appreciation from any reader.

Volume 1, On the Planet Mongo is available now from Titan Books. Look for Volume 2, The Tyrant of Mongo this December.

Book Review: "Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion"

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion by PopMatters.
Publisher: Titan Books. Available now.
Purchase here: Paperback | Kindle.

Joss Whedon is a genius. There. I said it. I bet you're super surprised. And, finally, ol' J-Dub is getting some long overdue praise this year after a certain critically-acclaimed and billion-dollar superhero movie hit the big screen earlier this month (which, we loved and then later gushed over.)

But the Whedonverse extends far beyond the reaches of Marvel Studios. His television series, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, has had a cultural influence that far outlast the life of the series themselves. And those are only two examples.

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion collects a series of essays and cultural studies that explore all of Whedon's most famous works, analyzing them with a critical eye befitting the maturity and significance that those works reflect.

While not a book for the Whedon-uninitiated, The Complete Companion is a must-buy for all of Whedon's most ardent fans. The book even touches upon (albeit lightly) Whedon's most recent successes, The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. (Although because this book was finalized and sent to publish prior to the release of those movies, these essays are more informational than analytical.)

The tome clocks in at nearly 500 pages, spread over 50 essays that dissect Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Whedon's other significant projects. Buffy gets the majority of the book's focus, although Angel, Firefly, and Serenity get a sufficient examination. The Dr. Horrible section is, unfortunately, quite sparse, but the three essays that take a look at Billy's aspirations to the Evil League of Evil are excellent.

Having read a number of pop culture collections like this, I've noticed a common problem: they often can't find the happy medium between academic textbook and blog post. Thankfully, the majority of The Complete Companion finds that excellent place where it reads both entertainingly and intellectually. This would find a place as a textbook in some collegiate-level "Whedon Studies" course, while at the same time being a compelling read. (By the way, somebody tell me what college offers said course.) That's key - I've seen some works that are written as if you've never heard of subtext before, and I've seen some that are so clinically dry they have sucked all of the enjoyment from a source material. The Complete Companion, however, is a good, entertaining read that doesn't insult your intelligence.

If I do have one complaint, though, it's with the copyediting. There are some blatant mistakes that should never have made it to print. Joss's sister-in-law and frequent collaborator is "Maurissa," not "Melissa." Peter Parker's first girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, does not have an "e" in her last name. And most glaringly: "Joss Shedon"? Really?! If there's one name that should never be misspelled, it should be the name of the guy you're writing the book about. These incidents are certainly not on every page, but they were noticed.

Ultimately, Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion is an enjoyable experience that will, no doubt, further cement your love for all things Joss. It's highly recommended for all Whedonites - what better way to learn something than to analyze it with reference to something you already love?

Book Review: Plague Town

Plague Town by Dana Fredsti.
Publisher: Titan Books. Available now.
Purchase here: Paperback | Kindle.

“People are dying. Then they are waking up. Hungry.” This tag-line, used on the back cover of Dana Fredsti’s novel “Plague Town,” pretty much sums up the plot of every novel or movie about zombies ever made. If you’re a fan of those to begin with, chances are you’ll enjoy this book. It’s chock full of all the classic clichés and plot standards we’ve all come to expect from a zombie story… shambling, rotting corpses, a team of people trying to survive against all odds, and (of course) lots of headshots and guns.

Ashley Parker, a woman in her late twenties returning to college after a divorce, is ready to buckle down and earn herself a degree. But her plans (and her entire life) are thrown into chaos when a deadly flu begins spreading throughout the small college town she calls home. Those who die from the flu rise from the dead and develop a taste for human flesh. But Ashley is a special case… she’s one of a few select individuals who are not only immune to the zombie disease, but are granted super-human powers by it as well. She must now bond with her fellow “Wild Cards” and learn how to fight, shoot and survive in a college town which is now home to a massive swarm of hungry, shambling corpses.

If you’re thinking that this sounds a little clichéd, you’re completely right. However, Fredsti does a great job of lamp-shading the clichés by dropping almost constant pop-culture references, both in dialogue and in the main character’s thoughts. While waiting for an approaching zombie swarm, Ashley thinks that the fog looks like something straight out of a movie like “Dawn of the Dead.” However, you can only hang so many lamp-shades before it starts to feel a bit tedious. I certainly didn’t count them, but there seemed to be at least one pop culture reference every five pages or so. The references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Army of Darkness (on which, interestingly, the author actually worked), Twilight, Aliens, the SyFy Channel and any number of others are dropped with such annoying frequency that I started to dread them more than the rot-infested zombies. It felt almost as if the author fancied herself as Gretel, dropping pop-culture bread crumbs along the path and hoping that the reader would gobble them up and continue following her to the conclusion of the story. I also have to worry about how well this book will age due to all these references. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a dedicated fan following now, but in ten or twenty years will anyone remember who she is, save for a small handful of Joss Whedon fans? Being as well-steeped in nerd culture as I am, I understood the vast majority of the references, but some fell flat even for me.

Hit the jump for the full review of Dana Fredsti's "Plague Town"!

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Book Review: The Company of the Dead

The Company of the Dead by David J. Kowalski.
Publisher: Titan Books. Available now.
Purchase here: Paperback | Kindle.

Considering our particular love for Fringe, Doctor Who, and other stories of the kind, it should be no surprise to anyone that we’re interested in stories about alternate histories and changing timelines – and the ramifications of playing with time itself.

So when the offer to review The Company of the Dead appeared, my interest was piqued.

The Company of the Dead is an extremely bold undertaking by freshman author, David Kowalski, and it packs quite a kick in the teeth.  While the book is a bit of a beast (750 pages!), the dense storylines surrounding (you guessed it) alternate historical timelines are well-crafted enough to keep you engaged throughout.

Dr. Jonathan Wells discovers a time machine hidden away in a Nevada-based government facility, during an emergency medical procedure.  When things turn into a bit of Mexican standoff, Wells escapes with his ill-fated assistant, taking the time machine in the process.

If the Titanic never sinks, then American history will be changed for the better, they reason.  Many people of particular wealth and influence died that day – what if they didn’t?  As Wells begins his trip through time, any changes he makes are to make the world better:  “an archduke in Europe who could do with living beyond 1914 and an Austrian painter with nasty ideas who could do with more valid, if brief, reasons for hating Jews.”

Wells sums it up best in that last line in that same chapter:

But first I have a boat to catch. “Change or die” is my new creed.  “What if” becomes “why not,” and everything old becomes new again.

The irony, of course, is that these lines have that same hint of arrogance that brought down the Titanic in the first place.  Wells may be well-intentioned, and he does bring about some significant change, but, as anyone who has watched Back to the Future knows, even the simple act of bringing a sports almanac to the past can mean completely changing the future in Biff’s image.

In this new timeline in 2012, America never entered a World War, but the surviving influences mean that Germany and Japan are the world’s strongest nations.  America, never truly unifying after the first Civil War, is eventually broken into two nations, and later occupied by foreign governments.  The Cold War-influences rage on as each nation keeps a shaky peace via nuclear stalemate.  The people of the new 2012 are investigating just what happened to bring the world to this sorry state, thus initiating a game of chess across many agendas through time itself.

In Doctor Who lore, there are fixed points in time – when those points are meddled with, the entire universe can unravel.  Based on the actions here, it seems that the Titanic’s fall in 1912 is one of those fixed points.  Wells' intervention causes an extremely horrific (by comparison) view of the future, where the mass genocide of World War II may never have happened, but America no longer exists.  The saving of one ship caused a literal War Games scenario, where the peace is tenuous at best, and the smallest nudge can cause full-scale global conflict.

As mentioned before, despite all of the interweaving conspiracy threads tangled in this book, Kowalski has done an admirable job to keep things moving forward while still making it engaging.  It’s biggest flaw:  it’s size.  This book is a long one – it has to be in order to keep all of these conspiracy threads in check – but it’s a little off-putting for those who could read several other books in the same amount of time.  It’s taken me a while to write this review, mainly because I usually only have time to read in the minutes before I go to bed – although I found that difficult in this case, because “right before bed” is not a great time for me to keep track of who is doing what and where.

Still, The Company of the Dead is an excellent read.  While not recommended for everyone (or perhaps most), it’s a story that will delight those with a particular affinity for alternate history/sci-fi literature – the Fringe/Doctor Who-types will love it.

Discloure: A review copy of The Company of the Dead was provided in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Inheritance

“Inheritance,” the fourth and final book of The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.Christopher Paolini exploded onto the young adult fantasy scene with his first book, “Eragon,” at the age of seventeen. He gained a good deal of fame for publishing a best-selling book so young, and the story was even made into a (terrible) movie. (No, really. It’s awful. If you haven’t seen it, spare yourself the pain.) Books two (”Eldest”) and three (“Brisingr”) were also best-sellers, and November marked the release of the fourth and final book in the series (“Inheritance”).

The Inheritance Cycle gets a lot of flak in the fantasy / scifi community for being derivative. I’ve heard it referred to as “Star Wars in Middle-earth,” and honestly, the analogy is pretty accurate. In “Eragon,” farm-boy and titular character Eragon finds a dragon egg in the forest. It hatches for him, and boy and dragon are guided by a wise old man who teaches Eragon magic in his quest to find and destroy the evil usurper Galbatorix, who has annihilated the ancient order of the dragon-riders and taken the reins of leadership in a tyrannical grasp. The parallels between this story and any other “farm-boy discovers magical powers and goes on to save the world” story are clear to anyone who’s read a few fantasy novels, but I feel that most of the series’ detractors are forgetting that the series is young adult fiction.

The series is aimed at pre-teens, and I think that it succeeds quite well in that regard. Tropes which adult readers of fantasy are familiar with aren’t as apparent to younger readers, and I believe that they’ll be swept up in the story of young Eragon and his quest. His growth from a naïve and head-strong boy into a powerful and yet flawed young man are sure to strike chords in the minds of the younger readers the books are marketed for. His struggles with family, friendship, loyalty and his own sense of superiority are realistically well-portrayed, and the story deals well with his journey into adulthood. The driving force of the series is Eragon’s struggle to determine who he really is, a theme most young people examine at least once in their lives.

This said, “The Inheritance Cycle” isn’t as good as other young adult novels (such as the Harry Potter series) at pleasing readers both young and old. If you’re a fantasy aficionado, you’ll probably be annoyed at Paolini’s elves and dwarves, which are drawn straight from Tolkien with a few cursory unique elements. The plot parallels to Star Wars: A New Hope are blaringly obvious from the get-go and he only begins to break out of that plot structure in book three. Book four presents a host of other problems, including some unmistakable deus ex machina, choppy story-telling, and a dénouement which stretches for an unbelievable hundred and fifty pages.

Yes, you read that right. After the climax, you have to read A HUNDRED AND FIFTY PAGES in which the author ties up unresolved plot threads. It felt as if Paolini just couldn’t let go of this world he’d created, and felt the need to drag the reader along with him as he painstakingly examined the aftereffects of the events of the climax and how they affected each and every major character in the series.

The climax itself was satisfying, if a tad unrealistic. Paolini laid the groundwork for a wonderfully unique world-changing event, then seemed to realize that said event would kill off a large number of his beloved characters, so he backed off and took the safer route. It left the event feeling far less dramatic as a result, and stole some of the thunder from what could have been an amazing jaw-dropping ending to the series.

Despite all its faults, The Inheritance Cycle does have some redeeming qualities that kept me reading up until the final page. The character Murtaugh made a fine contrast for Eragon’s optimism and noble ideals. I found his character to be far superior to any others, but then, I’ve always been a sucker for dark characters with tortured pasts. I am also admittedly a huge fan of dragons despite their over-abundance in the fantasy genre, and Paolini’s take on them, while somewhat generic, was fun to read. The story itself gets better as the series progresses, and while Paolini may falter from time to time (the first few chapters of book four felt rather clumsy in comparison to the rest of the book, for example), overall I found it engaging and enjoyable. I’m also rather happy that he didn’t follow the “hero lives happily ever after” formula. For someone who has adhered religiously to so many tropes, his breaking of this one (especially when so many fans were obviously rooting for it) was a nice surprise.

Overall, I’d recommend this book highly to young adult readers, and suggest that adult fantasy fans go into it with their expectations low, if they pick it up at all. Don’t read The Inheritance Cycle if you’re looking for new and unique magic systems, unforgettable characters or deep world-building, because you certainly won’t get them. I like to think of it as a gateway book… it’s a great introduction for younger readers into epic fantasy, and will hopefully whet their appetites for more.

Book Review: Mistborn: The Alloy of Law

Looking for a fun, fast fantasy read with enjoyable characters?  Hold on to your hats and your revolver, because you’ll probably love Brandon Sanderson’s latest novel, Mistborn:  The Alloy of Law, released today from TOR books.   The original Mistborn trilogy (officially titled Mistborn: The Final Empire) was delightful.  It featured a unique magic system, fascinating world, and likable characters, all rotating around a post-modern fantasy plot which had me guessing up until the very last page.  But does the sequel stand up to its formidable predecessors? 

Set three hundred years after the events of the original trilogy, this book is part western, part high fantasy, part mystery and all action.  The book starts off with a bang (literally!), sending you on a ricochet ride through a world which is just beginning its own industrial revolution.  Trains, electricity, automobiles and fire-arms are beginning to find their place, but Waxillium Ladrium is having trouble finding his own in the high society of Elendel.  Originally an old-west style law-keeper (think Clint Eastwood), Wax has inherited his family estates, and all of the various financial and social obligations that come with them.  But the arrival of an old friend marks the beginning of a series of mysterious kidnappings which Wax’s law-keeping instincts simply can’t ignore…

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Book Review - "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in George R. R. Martin’s epic “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, was released in July.  Why, then, am I only now writing this review?

Compared to Martin’s six year hiatus between books, a four month hiatus to write a review doesn’t seem so bad.

I kid, I kid.  In all seriousness, I needed some time to mull this book over before I committed my thoughts to the page.  "A Song of Ice and Fire" is being hailed by critics and fans alike as the best fantasy series in a generation.  Indeed, some go so far as to dub Martin “The American Tolkien.”  HBO’s adaptation of the first book of the series, “A Game of Thrones,” is winning accolades left and right and bringing a horde of new fans to the long-running series.  But does this latest installment live up to the hype?

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Book Review: "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson

Culture Shock

If you’re a fan of fantasy novels, you get used to seeing the same ideas used over and over again.  The hero rising from humble origins, dragons, castles, dark evils and magical swords, etc…  After awhile, these tropes just start to feel natural, and instead of being annoyed when you see yet another farmboy begin on his hero’s quest, you look forward to how the author will spin the same old story and make it interesting.  Then, you read a book like The Way of Kings, and remember what made you fall in love with the genre to begin with.

Sanderson is gaining renown in the fantasy genre lately, partly because of his work to finish Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, but also for his Mistborn series and stand-alone novels Elantris & Warbreaker.  Each of his worlds is unique and well-written, but The Way of Kings really ups the ante.

In Roshar, horrific storms sweep the land every few weeks, so the landscape has evolved to survive them.  Grass retracts into the ground when endangered (even when that danger is something as small as a lady about to trod upon it).  Most forms of wildlife have developed a chitinous outer shell and look more like large bugs than dogs or oxen.  Tiny creatures resembling globes of light are drawn to elements (fire, water, etc…) but also to things like pain, fear, and glory, giving visual indicators to emotion.

Read on the full review!

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Devil in the Details - a review of "Horns" by Joe Hill

If anyone claims that Horns by Joe Hill is an easy read, or a light-hearted, fun novel, you may want to check their head for a pair of horns of their own, because they are most certainly lying.

Other than the comic book Locke & Key, this is the first of Hill’s work that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.  Like Locke & Key, the story is dark, brooding and troubling.  If I had to determine a genre, I would say that it straddles the line between low fantasy and horror, with a splash of mystery and some definite Christian overtones. Our protagonist, Ig, awakens one morning to discover that a pair of horns has sprouted from his forehead.  These horns have the power to make people confess their darkest desires to Ig, who is still grieving over the rape and murder of his girlfriend, Merrin, a year ago.  As his strange powers continue to manifest and the horns grow, Ig makes some disturbing discoveries and learns a great deal about friendship, love and betrayal – and finds out just how far he is willing to descend into sin and darkness in order to avenge his best friend and childhood lover.

The beginning of the novel was admittedly a little slow.  I had trouble sympathizing with Ig at first, as he has sunk so deeply into despair and self-loathing that he comes across as rather flat.  This problem gradually disappeared as the flashback sequences began, however.  In these, Hill reminded me very vividly of his father (Stephen King).  The themes of childhood and young love were reminiscent of It. 

This book, like It, disturbed me on several layers.  Ig’s interactions with his family members and friends are haunting, to say the least.  Everyone in the town believes that he killed Merrin, and most of them wouldn’t be sorry to see him dead.  Scifi and fantasy often play with the concept of telepathy, and the theme of “you’d be happier not knowing” is a common one, but rarely have I seen it executed so well.

The swift unraveling of Ig and Merrin’s apparently flawless relationship before her death is shown through a series of flashbacks, some through another character’s point of view.  Here, Hill displays his mastery of differing viewpoints.  An innocent movement seen through one character’s eyes is a blatant sexual invitation through another’s, and I found myself able to relate to and understand both viewpoints. 

Hill’s style is sparse, but the prose flows beautifully.  He describes just enough to allow the reader to form their own internal images, and his dialogue is smooth and natural.  He explores themes as beautiful as first love and as dark as murder in the same breath, and does so with the simultaneous simplicity and complexity which the subjects deserve.

At its center, Horns explores a question which almost everyone asks themselves at one point or another – if the one person we love most were violently taken from us, how would we react?  Would we seek vengeance?  Would we sink into despair?  Would we take our own lives?  But the question Joe Hill is asking is considerably deeper and more thought-provoking.  Would you be willing to sacrifice all the goodness within you in order to destroy an even greater evil? 

Perhaps the vague sense of unease I’ve had since I finished the book is because, having asked myself this question, I find myself at a loss for an answer.

I would recommend this book to fans of Stephen King, H. P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe, as well as horror & dark fantasy aficionados. 

7 / 10 stars

ISBN-10: 0061147958
ISBN-13: 978-0061147951
Publisher: William Morrow