Books of 2022: Quarter 4 - Everything Not "Fables"

 

So, just like the title says, this is everything else minus everything Fables

 

A Wanted Man by Lee Child

Following the events of the previous book, Jack Reacher is again on the side of a highway still looking to hitch a ride to Virginia. Picked up by three strangers, Reacher finds himself in more trouble when the woman in the back seat secretly reveals that she's been kidnapped. Finding no one is simply who they say they are, Reacher is pulled into a conspiracy involving the FBI, CIA, a dead man, and a collection of terror cells operating on American soil.

Needing a breather after completing the entirety of the Everworld series, I decided to go back to the Jack Reacher series. In case you're also wondering, yes, I am also excited for Amazon to release season 2 especially after how well the first season did. This book though, probably not at the top of the list for them to pull for a TV adaptation. A good chunk of the story is either Reacher riding or driving the car while an investigation takes place outside the car involving other characters. It still has enough of the Jack Reacher action and mystery I love from these books. I also learned how to talk continuously for a minute without using the letter "A" so that's a nice bonus.

 

Never Go Back by Lee Child

Jack Reacher finally makes it to Washington DC to meet with Major Susan Turner, a woman he's only ever spoken with on the phone and who now has his old job. Instead of finding Turner at his old desk, however, he finds that she's been arrested for accepting a bribe. At the same time, Reacher is pulled back into the US Army to face charges from his past that he can't recall.

The final book of the last four with some continuity (as most of the other books can be read as stand-alones) and the basis for the 2nd of the Tom Cruise "Jack Reacher" movies. To be honest, I liked the movie more than the book in this case: it provided better clues related to the plot and the Big Bad was also better. The book made Reacher's "daughter" less of an annoyance (plus she wasn't there for a majority of the story) so that's a thing the book did better. Other than that, another Jack Reacher novel. You know what to expect by now.

Deadly Class Vol 12: A Fond Farewell (part 2) by Rick Remender

The final chapter of Deadly Class! Marcus and Maria left behind their old lives of death and bloodshed to begin again as simple, regular folks trying to get by in America. Finding some fame as a writer, Marcus still struggles to reconcile his past ideals with his present situation. Meanwhile, a few of their old King's Dominion classmates are cleaning house, taking out anyone with connections to either past as well as anyone in their way, including the couple.

It's the end of the series! To think I only started this because of the cancelled Syfy show. To tell you the truth, it ended a lot differently than I expected. I didn't expect them to get to adulthood, for one, and though instead the story would stay within their school/ teenage years. And, simply based on Marcus's attitude, I expected the whole thing to end on a down note. But, as Marcus says about his own story, everyone knows that the protagonists are eventually going to die, but the story doesn't have to end there. It could just end and leave the audience in a happy, content spot, and that's what this story does.

The Magic Order by Mark Miller

In Volume One, someone is killing wizards, and not just any wizards but members of The Magic Order - a secret society of magic users sworn to protect humanity from the monsters that once ruled the Earth now driven into the darkness. They hide in plain sight, people you might see everyday: on your way to work, sitting behind a desk, a vendor on the street. The Magic Order will need all its members, even those reluctant to be a part of it, to stop those responsible.

In Volume Two, those that hide in the shadows decide to strike while The Magic Order undergoes a change in leadership. An evil warlock seeks to restore the world to the times when monsters reigned and humanity cowered before them. Cordelia will need to lead The Magic Order against those foes from the past to keep humanity safe.

Set in the present day, The Magic Order is about a secret group of wizards who protect humanity from the monsters that once ruled the world now hiding in its shadows. Though they have magic, the members are encouraged not to use it for personal gain, their current leader even refraining from using his abilities at his job as a stage magician. What I really liked about the story is that while both stories involve magical fighting, the spells weren't just generic blasts of magical force (seen in the finale of Willow on Disney+) but actual spells that did more than just go "pew-pew".

I picked up the first volume wandering Other Realms one day on simply a whim and name recognition  alone while knowing nothing about the storyline, characters, artwork, etc. Yeah, just because it had Mark Millar's name on it. If you've never heard of him, he wrote Kick-Ass, Wanted, Marvel's Civil War, Nemesis and a bunch of other comics. I loved a lot of his other work and decided to just put my trust that though this is the first magic-based comic I recall him writing, that if its as good as his superheros stories, it was going to be good - and it did not disappoint.

I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young

I Hate Fairyland Vol 1: Madly Ever After

Gertrude was just seven years old when she was whisked away against her will to a magical fairy world. Simply wishing to return home, she is sent on a quest to retrieve a key that will return her home. Unfortunately, Gert is terrible at the tasks assigned to her and what should've been a quest filled with joy and happiness turned into Gert's blood-soaked, terror-filled rampage across fairyland lasting almost thirty years as she tries (and fails) to find the magical key to return home.

In my comic-reading binge, OtherRealms also hands out this free "Coming Soon" newsletter which is where I read that something called "I Hate Fairyland" was going to restart. Interested in the title, I took a look at the synopsis and said, "meh, why not give it a try." And holy shit, I did not expect this! Obviously, the beginning depicts Gertrude disappearing into the magical world, only the beauty is juxtaposed with kidnapping scene. The story jumps ahead by the roughly thirty years to find Gert still on her mission, obviously no longer filled with the wonder and whimsy of a child but the harsh bitterness of adulthood, comically still trapped in the child-body she arrived in. Gert solves ... all, yeah, all of her problems and encounters with excessive amounts of cartoon violence. I mean, right from the beginning, she shoots down the moon with a cannonball for annoying her with its narration, then kills a whole bunch of stars for being witnesses to the act. It's really funny and outlandish, just taking the idea of being whisked to a magical world and turning it on its head.

I Hate Fairyland Vol 2: Fluff My Life

Having ruined her own escape from Fairyland by murdering the queen, and thus becoming the queen, Gertrude must now undertake her new royal duties (which she is still horribly bad at completing). She'll meet a new dragon-costumed child who was sucked into Fairyland, enter a fighting tournament, gamble with dark wizards, and be forced to choose between two paths that could either lead her home or mean the destruction of Fairyland and everyone in it.

I Hate Fairyland Vol 3: Good Girl

Deciding to try a new tactic, Gertrude decides that perhaps if she attempts good deeds that will help her accomplish her task of getting home. Larry gets a small sneak peek at what his life might've been like if he were assigned to guide any other child. In her travels, Gert will meet her idol (as well as become one), wander a labyrinth, and encounter some old friends.

I Hate Fairyland Vol 4: Sadly Never After

It appears Gert has met her demise, finding herself in Fairyland's Hell. Fairyland, however, can't seem to let Gert rest as a new evil threatens to end the world. The fate of the world now rests upon Larry and Duncan the Dragon to bring Gert back in an effort to save Fairyland.

I Hate Fairyland (issues #1-2)

Finally back home, Gertrude bounces unhappily from job to job as the homicidal nature developed in Fairyland makes her a very, very poor employee back on Earth. In the end though, one man is willing to hire her for her very, very specific skills - to rescue his son from Fairyland.

Devil's Reign

 

 

Wilson Fisk, the former Kingpin of New York, has been elected its new mayor. In his bid to secure his power and put down the superheroes for good, he enacts a law making it illegal to be a masked vigilante in New York City. To back up his scheme, he has recruited Dr. Otto Octavius, a special squad of armored officers, and even his own Thunderbolts team. The heroes of New York will set out to defeat and expose Fisk to the people before the next election.

 

So, one of the reasons you don't see any of the traditional Marvel or DC superhero comics is just the simple fact that I have no idea what's going on in the current storylines. Seriously, this one even included end notes detailing in which specific issue a particular event happened. I personally had to stop reading at time simply to look up who certain characters were (apparently Matt Murdock has a con-artist brother or something). The only reason I picked this one up is because I bought a couple issues of the "Devil's Reign" event on a whim and decided to finish that particular storyline. It's different from the traditional hero vs villain story as Fisk is already in control, and the heroes can't simply use their powers to fight him. Yeah, I know that part of it feels like another version of "Civil War" or a Superhuman Registration Act but I mean, that's usually a big thing heroes can't just punch their way out of, so I understand using it again.

 

Quickstops (#1-3) by Kevin Smith

 

 

 

 From Kevin Smith's "Askewneverse" comes short stories based around the characters you know from the slacker movies you love. In the first issue, we get the interview with Ben Affleck's character, Brody, during the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot movie during which he describes working at the Quickstop and the inspiration behind the popular "Bluntman and Chronic" comics. In Issue Two, Randall attends the funeral of his cousin (the one that died from a broken neck while trying to suck his own dick), reminiscing about the past and his excitement at working at the video store. The third issue shows Elias working at the religious summer camp and how he got into cryptocurrency (a big part of Clerks 3).

 

Though I admit I haven't watched all of the movies that I guess fit into Smith's View Askewniverse I really liked reading all of these short side stories involving its characters. The writing, artwork, and jokes fit right in with the movies and are great accompaniments to them as well. 

Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier (#1-3)

 

 Demons aren't supposed to be summoned as easily as a dog, or a servant. Ellie Hawthorne however just discovered that someone has bound a lot of devils from the infernal realm to be called upon just like that. It'll be up to Hawthorne to send them all back to Hell.

A different take on the typical "demons from hell" stories, in this case the main character seeking to return the demons to Hell to get them away from the real bad guys.

 

 

Least We Can Do by Iolanda Zanfardino (#1-4)

 

 

A young woman sees the evil of the government and seeks to do something about it. Stealing a family heirloom in the dead of night, she sneaks off to join the rebellion with nothing except her optimism and hope. But can just one person actually make a difference?

 

An Evil Empire suppressing the masses. A growing rebellion looking to change the way things are. A new comer with no experience, boundless optimism, and a potential to turn the tide. It's a story that's of course been told countless times before. What makes Least We Can Do stand apart is just how focused on the main character's progress the story is, focusing on her growth rather than simply action and adventure as other stories might. I was also interested in the magic system where power came from rare gems. For it to work though, a person must bond with a particular gem and, so far, it's been just one gem per person.

 

 

End After End by Tim Daniel and David Andry (#1-4)

 

 Walter Willem is dead, and that's where his adventure reluctantly begins. On his way to a traditional afterlife, he is brought to the End After End to fight for a leader he doesn't recognize against alien forces for a cause he doesn't understand. He'll need to use his strength, cunning, and bravery to survive. But why should he?

An interesting concept because, really, there's no reason for Willem to do anything: He knows that if he dies there, he'll simply more onto whatever was supposed to be next for him.

Eight Billion Genies by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne (#1-6)

 

 

 One moment, life is proceeding exactly how you expect it should. The next, everyone - EVERYONE - in the world finds themselves with a single genie ready to grant them one wish. As expected, everything goes sideways as wishes are made, and cancelled, and horded, and the human population finds itself dropping in the chaos and madness. Will humanity, or even the planet, survive when everyone is given exactly what they want?

Sometimes great ideas come from a simple question. "What if everyone got exactly what they wanted?" Obviously, there is a social commentary to it all but it's also filled with comic book action as people try to protect what's theirs from the chaos of the world. Each issue starts with a current count of the number of days since the genies appeared, as well as the current genie population representing unused wishes and human beings still alive. I heard about this series after several issues had already been released, and it took a while until I could find all of the back issues in a comic shop.

GCPD: The Blue Wall by John Ridley (#1-3)

 

 

 The rookie cops just graduated from the academy and are thrust into Gotham City. Each is hopeful and optimistic, simply looking to protect and serve and make a difference. Being a police officer though is a hard job and just because you're on Batman's turf, doesn't mean the job is easier.

So far the series is just three issues into its run but it's still really heavy with issues faced by the police especially in today's climate. Honestly, when I first picked it up (a rare grab from one of the two major publishers) I was hoping for stories from the police's point-of-view in regards to working with vigilantes and apprehending supervillains but so far the story has avoided those with just one mention of Two-Face so far. The series focuses more on real-life issues, such as racism, recidivism, and hostile work environments.

I mentioned before that I got really into comics last year (originally because Dungeons and Dragons stuff are also found in comic book stores) and if you looked at this list and said, "Hey, that doesn't look like a lot," well yeah that's not all of them. So, like how I watch TV shows, read manga, and watch anime, I'm trying to give most things that I pick up a three-episode limit so see if they'll hold my interest. There's a couple comics that I started but didn't stick with, as well several more that I only picked up one or two issues before the end of the year and so I don't want to put them on this list just yet (I think almost half a dozen just off the top of my head).