Books of 2024: Quarter 2 (books)

Books and comics from the last three months (I spent way too long trying to figure out how to layer images before giving up).

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

A decade ago, a government agency assembled five teenagers in the hopes that one might turn out to be the prophesied "Chosen One" in order to stop the supernatural destruction caused by a man branded "The Dark One." Trained in basic tactics and given their own magical artifacts, the rag-tag team defeated the villain and put the world on track to getting back to normal. Except, some things can't ever go back to the way they were. Now, ten years later, Sloane is still dealing with the trauma of The Dark One's violence and terror. Except, The Dark One might not be as gone as they'd hoped. Kidnapped by another, alternate Earth, the group is forced to defeat this world's Dark One before they can be sent home - a Dark One who has already defeated this world's Chosen One.

The story follows Sloane and the other four "Chosen Ones" in the aftermath of defeating their Big Bad Guy where they are pulled into yet another battle. The first third to half of the novel is spent focused on Sloane's mental health and trauma as she is still recovering ten years later from the battle with The Dark One, and the choices she made and the actions she took to win the battle. At the same time, she's also learning about the government program that grouped the five teens together along with the information the government gathered on not only The Dark One and magic (an entirely new concept on Earth), but on the kids themselves. The story then shifts when three of them are summoned/kidnapped by magic-users from a parallel Earth (you watch Marvel movies, I shouldn't have to explain "Multiverse" to anyone) to fight their version of The Dark One. The trio will need to learn not only how to access this world's magic system to fight against this new Big Bad Guy, but also learn who he really is and how they are connected with Sloane's own world. It's the ending that I thought was really interesting and set-up a whole new world that would be an interesting setting to see a story be set in.

So, let me just talk about that isekai twist. Based on the book cover blurb, I was expecting the story to focus on the aftermath of defeating the prophesied enemy and the trauma that follows the characters, and what was to happen to the characters when the bad guy comes back to haunt them again. I definitely did not expect, nor get the impression, this story would turn into a portal-quest story. That it wasn't introduced either until a third of the way into the story threw me off only because these kinds of switches typically happen much earlier (like episode one of a series). I guess, because I wasn't expecting the twist, that kinda took me out of the story for a bit.

Surprisingly, with all of the books on my To Read list and all of the Book Recommendation Lists the algorithm gives me on an almost daily basis, this book wasn't even on my radar when I happened across it at Skull-face Books. Sounding interesting enough (a story about the aftermath of defeating The Dark One, most stories don't get that far) - and to use up the last of my store credit from selling off other books - I decided it might be worth checking out. Unfortunately, it then sat in a box with other books for months waiting to be read as I got bogged down not only with other reading, but I also didn't have much time to read. What surprised me the most about this book was that it was written by the same author who wrote The Divergent Series (which I know of from snippets of the movies I've seen). Now, I've never read any of the books, so I can't compare it to that series. I'm actually thinking about other Young Adult (YA) novels I've read, such as "The Hunger Games," "I am Number Four," "Scythe," and The Harry Potter series. Though at times this book might feel like a YA novel, it definitely feels more adult in other aspects. For one, though YA novels do feature traumatic events happening to teenagers and young adult age characters, rarely do they go beyond the events, since the story itself is only focused on that particular event and not the aftermath. Sure, both "Mockingjay" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" both feature an epilogue scene, we still don't get a full view of the trauma these characters may still be suffering through into their adult years. A similar aspect to other YA novels I've read is the action, particularly the combat scenes. Other Adult novels tend to get a bit more graphic in their depictions of fighting and death making the scenes standout from the rest of the story. YA novels tend not to get too graphic, perhaps quick shot of blood or pain, but nothing that the writer would linger too much on.

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

 

The third daughter of a small kingdom, Marra is spared the fate of most princesses when she is sent away to a convent. Sheltered from the world, she learns her sisters are not so lucky - one killed by her husband's rage and the other currently punished by it until she can produce a male heir. When Marra realizes a hero isn't coming to save her sister, she sets off on a quest to kill the prince herself. To do so, she'll seek out a dust-wife, one who communes with the dead, for help, who promises her aid if Marra can complete three impossible tasks. As Marra soon learns, these tasks are only the beginning of a strange journey to rescue her sister.

A re-imagining of the traditional fairytale, this is the story of a princess on a quest to kill the price abusing her sister. What is really great about this book is that it is simply a fun read. The characters aren't simply stale, one-dimensional figures but each with a hidden layer; the plot is simple but filled with enough twists to keep the reader wondering how Marra will accomplish her goal; and the pacing flowed really well, especially considering the sections of backstory reading to be presented through the first third of the book. Though the story blurb promises the traditional "three tasks," these are actually completed rather quickly and serve no purpose except to show Marra's resolve in completing her goal. Instead, the main focus becomes putting together the items she'll need to accomplish her goal, including gathering comrades and information and devising a plan. This theme of "things aren't quite what they appear to be" also applies to the characters, each of them showing they aren't simply who they were when introduced. Examples such as the soldier Fenris who you believe is simply a killer until he reveals why he did what he did; and Marra's own godmother who only bestows the most basic of blessings and appears to be a fraud until her origins are revealed and you find her specialty is actually in applying curses. It's a fun read that asks the reader to make it to the very end to learn the truth hidden behind what is simply on the surface.

Since reading the "Fables" comic series a decade ago, I've been a fan of these "re-imagining traditional fairytales" stories. And, like many other books, it's been sitting on my To Read list for awhile until I got around to selling some books off to Skull-face, and I found this on their shelves. Then, like other books, it sat, waiting to be read.

What If by Randall Munroe

 What if a pitcher threw a ball at the speed of light? What if everyone on the planet were gathered into the same spot on the planet, and jumped? What if you gathered every element on the periodic table, and used them to create the table itself? What if you isolated everyone on the planet for two weeks in an attempt to eliminate the common cold? These and other absurd hypothetical questions were poised to Randall Munroe, a former NASA employee and creator of the "XKCD" web-comic, who collected a variety of them along with his researched answers and witty stick-figure cartoons to publish into a book. If you're ready to learn and laugh, this is a must read.

I honestly forgot where I first heard about this web-comic (maybe Facebook?) but the response he gave to the attempt to bat a baseball traveling at the speed of light was incredible. So, when I heard he'd printed a bunch of these into a book I added it to my "To Read" list. Unfortunately, I've only ever seen the book for sale in hardcover, and I really didn't want to pay full-price for it. Yes, I know, I could just read the web-comic, but, you know, I prefer books. Well, it just so happened as I was wandering the Book-Off shelves, I spotted this copy for $5, which is incredible, so of course I picked it up.

As it should be noted, I'm a fucking idiot when it comes to the sciences (and most things, really), so to say I understood everything presented in this book would be an obvious lie. He does dumb down a lot of the science for folks like me to understand. And, if you still don't get it (like I did some of the time), well, then just laugh along with the jokes and stick-figure drawings. That all said, of course, I had my favorites:
1. Throwing a pitch at the speed of light decimating the park.

 

2. Everyone on the planet jumping in the same place (which does nothing), but the results of getting billions of people into the same place having terrifying results.
3. Not being able to eliminate the common cold (or really any virus) through isolation as well as the consequences it could have on a nation's economy (this book was published in 2014).

Monsters & Creatures (Dungeons and Dragons): A Young Adventurer's Guide by Jim Zub, Stacy King, and Andrew Wheeler

A simple and direct guidebook on some of the most popular monsters and creatures populating the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Sorting them by commonly explored regions such as caves or forests, this guide provides a quick overview of typical creature behavior and abilities, including some helpful do's and don't's for adventurers who may encounter them. If you're looking for a little more of a challenge than the average monster, the book also provides a couple legendary Monsters such as a Demigorgan and Count Strahd, the vampire. There is also several example encounters asking an adventurer what their next choice may be when encountering one of these creatures in the game. At the very back is a short, helpful guide on how to utilize the monsters provided and others found throughout the rest of the published D&D material to populate your game and tell your story.

I got this book a while back from a friend I'm playing D&D with who happened to pick-up several copies while on vacation. It was a pretty quick read, only a hundred pages or so. Despite being a brief read, it did take me a while to get to it as, honestly, it's a "flavor" book, providing additional context on a sample of creatures found in D&D. Unlike other sourcebooks, it doesn't provide stat blocks or the dice rolls required to calculate Hit Points or Attack Rolls or Experience Points gained for defeating the creature - you know, the stuff needed to build combat encounters which I think I focus too much on instead of building a story (yeah, I should work on balancing that). I did enjoy the sections of the book describing particular scenarios and asking what a Player Character might do in that situation, whether it be a unicorn deeming a flawed character worthy, or being lured into a trap by a vampire. These nice, short "what-if" sections let me get into the mind of several unplayed/untested Player Character builds I've got sitting in the D&D Beyond app, and see how they might react, giving me a better understanding of the character to roleplay in an actual game (I should really go looking for an actual game).

Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection by Mark Millar and Robert Kirkman

Opening with Mark Millar's "Ultimate Fantastic Four" issues #21-23, Reed Richards is tricked into opening a portal between the Ultimate Universe and another universe where a zombie virus has infected the entirety of the superhuman community by the world's zombified Reed Richards. Richards finds himself trapped and on the run from ravenous super-powered zombies in a world almost depleted of living humans. At the same time, the zombie-Fantastic Four make their way to the Ultimate Universe to spread the virus, where they are stopped by the rest of the Ultimate Fantastic Four. Reed - and a few other survivors - are rescued and returned to the Ultimate Universe.

Back in the real world, while Millar is writing this story, someone reached out to Robert Kirkman, writer of "The Walking Dead" and asked if he'd like to do a zombie story using this new universe. Told to write it however he wished, Kirkman delivered a graphic, grotesque zombie script before remembering it was for Marvel Comics - but they loved it and told him to keep going. What we got was a five-issue run of "Marvel Zombies" telling the story of a zombified Marvel universe where a virus turns superhumans into ravenous zombies who consume not only each other but the majority of the human population. "Marvel Zombies" #1 picks up right where "Ultimate Fantastic Four" #23 left off as the zombified heroes devour Magneto, then set off in search of food. As they contemplate their existence with full bellies, The Silver Surfer glides past, surveying the Earth for his master's arrival, Galactus. With news of Galactus's arrival, the zombies respond in true zombie fashion, by eating the Surfer. Utilizing the combined knowledge of Hank Pym (Ant-Man), Bruce Banner (The Hulk), and Tony Stark (Iron Man), the zombies create a device allowing them to fight back and defeat Galactus, consuming the Planet-Eater soon after. In the end, guided by hunger and fueled by the power gained from eating Galactus, the zombies leave Earth in search of other planets to devour.

Jumping back into the Ultimate Universe in "Ultimate Fantastic Four" #30 - 32, Reed Richards devises a plan to send the zombie Fantastic Four back to their own universe, a task made even more urgent when Zombie Richards informs them he has already devised his own escape plan. Finding Johnny Storm infected with an extra-terrestrial parasite commonly found in Lovecraftian-horror, Richards turns to Dr. Doom for help. At the Baxter Building, the zombies escape and devour everyone as the search for Richards' laboratory in hopes of bringing more of their kin to this new universe. Thanks to a body-swap deal, Richards utilizes all of Dr. Doom's power, knowledge, and abilities to dispatch the zombies with ease as well as remove the parasite from Storm. Doom acknowledges his failures and not only returns Richards to his own body, but takes the parasite and the zombies back to their own universe, sacrificing himself in the process.

What follows are a couple more short issues involving the zombies, including how it first spread, but nothing I was too invested in reading. What I really liked seeing were the different zombie-variant covers created for other comics, usually paying tribute to some iconic Marvel covers. As I'm now starting to fall into this "collecting comic books" phase (I'm seeing the appeal of comic books not just as "stories with pictures" but "art with stories) I even took the time to note several popular ones I might like to collect later besides just the original "Marvel Zombies" #1 - 5 issues, such as one featuring zombie-Captain America punching the head off of a zombie-Hitler, and a "Secret Wars #1" homage with zombified superheroes charging the cover.

This was a pretty fun read, the idea of zombies in a world with superheroes. I think a friend once told me about it over a decade ago, then, I saw it partially-animated in Marvel's "What-If" series on Disney+. I remembered about it again when Amazon ran their "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" sale on graphic novels, so I finally added it to my cart. Honestly, I was a little concerned about the zombies still retaining their human consciousness (as that's not how that usually works), but since Kirkman was writing the zombies as the main characters, it just wouldn't be ... right for a reader to simply watch the lives of a bunch of mindless zombies (that's jut boring). Seeing their guilt over the things they'd done, complaining about body parts falling off despite their near-immortality, how the hunger overtakes them and turns them into monsters - that is what made me connect with the series and care if they could devise a plan to defeat and dine on Galactus. That they would then use their new power to leave the planet in search of food, well, that's just a great ending.

The Last Ronin by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman, and Peter Laird

The last of the Turtles sneaks his way into a city controlled by The Foot on a quest for revenge. His target: Oroku Hirota, the grandson of the legendary Shredder. With the city locked down and patrolled by not only soldiers but mechanized troops, he'll need every bit of training and knowledge, as well as the tools of his brothers and the help of a former ally and some new ones to accomplish his goal. Haunted by his past, the big question remains - who is the Last Ronin?

Obviously, anyone who grew-up watching The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon (god, I'm old) should've heard about this graphic novel. I'd even heard it described as one of the greatest TMNT stories ever written. Of course, a lot of places carry this book, but I'd been hesitant to buy it as most places only carry the hardcover version, and I'd never looked too much into reading other TMNT comics. Then, (as I mentioned before), Amazon ran their "Buy 2, Get 1 free" sale, so I finally decided to pick this one up and give it a read. And, I know, I've said it before about hardcovers, but as cumbersome as it is to carry around, it does feel great to hold in my hands.

Having never read any of the other TMNT comics, I really didn't know what to expect besides what I'd heard though I did my best to avoid spoilers (especially who the Last Ronin was). I liked the character being haunted by ghosts/voices of his deceased brothers as he makes his way into the city to assassinate the new Foot Leader. Of course, the story brings back some notable characters such as April O'Neil, and introduces some new ones such as Casey Marie Jones, the daughter of April and Casey Jones. Standing apart from the other TMNT comic storylines, as long as you know the basics the story is easy to jump into. "The Last Ronin" delves deeper into the feud between the two clans and what ultimately drove [redacted] into hiding. The ending also sets-up a cool new start to this dark, gritty TMNT universe with [redacted] perhaps filling the role of Splinter.

What confused me the most was trying to figure out HOW The Foot Clan took over New York City. I guess, as long as the reader can get passed that idea (in, I guess the same way a gang of supervillains could take over a major US city without the US government getting involved) then the rest is a fun ride. And, I guess since I'm on the subject, I do want to admit, I just found the story "okay." I've read enough "gritty" re-imaginings at this point in my life to guess from the onset just who the Last Ronin might be (I was 90% certain), so the reveal wasn't too surprising when it happened. And, I guess, since I'm not really invested in the TMNT universe, the stakes weren't enough to really pull me into the story and make me care. That all said, it was a fun, five-issue read, but I'm glad I got it on sale.

Y: The Last Man (Deluxe Editions #3 - 5) by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra

Book Three
Yorick and his partners finally make it across the country to Dr. Mann's laboratory in California to begin her research into not only HOW Yorick and Ampersand survived whatever it was that killed off every other creature with a Y-chromosome, but to see if she can replicate it to bring the males back into the world. At the same time, Hero undergoes a deprogramming to rid her of the Amazonians influence, setting her on a journey retracing her brother's path until their eventual reunion. Just as Dr. Mann makes a breakthrough in her research, Ampersand is taken by a mysterious new enemy - one possibly connected to Dr. Mann's past. The team boards a ship to Australia to not only catch-up with Ampersand's kidnapper but also with the hopes of finding Beth, Yorick's girlfriend.

Book Four
Rescued by the Australian Navy, Yorick and Agent 355 set off to find Beth before their boat leaves the next morning. Instead, they discover Beth had already set off to Paris in the hopes of locating Yorick, who she still believes to be alive. At the same time, Yorick is photographed by a tabloid reporter, his naked picture soon to be spread to the masses. Meanwhile, Hero discovers a very-much pregnant Beth, the woman Yorick slept with months ago, still in her church. After a brief encounter with members of the Vatican tracking leads of an "immaculate conception," Hero and Beth travel to the Hot Suite, home of the rescued astronaut and her baby boy. Their safety is short-lived however once Alter and the Israeli force she leads to secure the world's last man attack the bunker. Back on Ampersand's trail, Yorick and the others arrive in Japan where Yorick and Agent 355 locate him in a yakuza hideout. Dr. Mann and her new girlfriend, Rose, locate Dr. Mann's mother's laboratory and her mother only to see her kidnapped by a rival scientist. The team will need to trek to China for their answers.

Book Five
Yorick and his group arrive in China to only rescue Dr. Mann's mother, but to also finally get the answers they've been searching for - what caused the plague which killed everything with a Y-chromosome, and what can be done to reverse it. The one holding the answers, they find, is Dr. Mann's own father, having stayed safe from the plague thanks to his cloning research and experiments - the same one which he believes to have caused the plague. He explains a theory that all living things are actually connected on a genetic level, sharing a sort-of collective consciousness. Once he managed to clone a baby girl (a clone of his daughter, Dr. Mann), he believed that consciousness decided the Y-chromosome to be obsolete, and thus killed them all off. After eliminating Dr. Mann's father and leaving Dr. Mann to continue his research, Yorick and Agent 355 leave to Paris in search of Beth. Meanwhile, Hero's group have also arrived in Europe having escaped the Israeli attack. The book also goes into other survivors' accounts of how they've been dealing with what may be the end of the plague times. We revisit Waverly, the supermodel-turned-corpse-retriever, as she not only puts together a funeral for Yorick's mother but also finds her place in this new world. Cayce and Hennrietta of the Fish-and-Bicycle playwrights also make an appearance, looking for a new medium to tell stories, turning to comics. After a brief reunion, Beth reveals to Yorick a truth he suspected - that she had planned to break-up with him at the start of the plague. Yorick rushes back to Agent 355 to tell her the secret he's been hiding from everyone - that he has been in love with her for a long time. It is then that Alter catches-up with him, assassinating Agent 355, and setting out to capture Yorick. Instead, Yorick turns the tables and subdues Alter, realizing then her goal was never about capturing him for Israel but to have him kill her as what she truly desires is death at the hands of a man. The story jumps sixty-years into the future as the world recovers. Men are slowly being introduced back into society through Dr. Mann's cloning research. Yorick, now imprisoned due to a suicide attempt, recounts the last years of his life only to distract his lone chaperone long enough to make his final, daring escape.

So, I finally got around to the final volumes of "Y: The Last Man." As it was a series I wasn't planning on holding and simply wanted to read, I wasn't in a big rush to buy it, and definitely didn't want to buy it new. Luckily, I found used copies at a Book-Off for $8 each, saving almost $40 (books are expensive). Hopefully, since they're in decent condition, I can re-sell them for store credit for my next batch of books (side note: they didn't sell that high).

Overall, I liked the series, running through these last three deluxe volumes in less than a week. Maybe it was just because I watched the one and only season of "Y: The Last Man" that I felt the pacing of the first volume was slow, but the rest moved very well. I really liked the story took the time to look at the lives of a couple other side characters just to remind the reader there is more to the world than simply the Last Man (and to add to the finale's suspense). Also, despite my dislike for stories involving multiple locations, it works much better in the comic genre than in novel form. Novels tend to need to waste time describing the setting each time we move to a different place. In a comic, it is simply shown by a change in background and the reader knows we're someplace else.

Let's talk about the "How" of it all - "How did all the men die?" Of course, the idea of everything with a Y-chromosome simply dying is absurd (at least, I think, but I'm also an idiot). Still though, I expected the answer to be a virus or chemical agent or something similar. I didn't expect it to rely on the concept of "collective unconsciousness" as if the world unconsciously decided men were no longer necessary. I mean, I understand (I think) the concept and how it applies to the story ... I just didn't like it. I know, right, the one thing I was waiting to discover this entire time and I didn't care for it. What it did make me realize, though, is despite this reveal and after overcoming my own dissatisfaction, was that it didn't matter how it happened at all (or even why). What mattered was what humanity would do now. I enjoyed the story continuing long after that discovery, seeing not just Yorick striving to be happy, but also the world moving forward.
 

Plush Trade Paperback (collecting issues #1 - 6) written by Doug Wagner, art by Daniel Hillyard and Rico Renzi

Devin's life is falling apart as his parents are still pressuring him to marry his cheating fiance who is also pregnant with another man's child, and though he knows he shouldn't, he still feels inclined to do so. Simply seeking to help him unwind, his friend brings him along to a furry convention. There, Devin witnesses an act of brutal cannibalism as a costumed trio devour another costumed attendee. Devin winds up catching the eye of one in particular, and is pulled into their group. What follows is a night of blood, death, and even love as the group fights off the local police force led by Devin's fiancee's father and ex-boyfriend.

What an insane and bloody ride this was. If you've been following along since I started putting not only graphic novels but comic book issues on this review list (if you have ... stop), you might remember seeing "Plush" issues #1 - 4 a long, long time ago. Unfortunately, back then, the two shops I've been frequenting both stopped bringing in the later issues so I never got around to finishing the series ... until now. Side note: this does typically happen with smaller publishers (i.e. anyone not Marvel or DC), so I'm not too surprised though I was sad since at the time I was just one more issue away from completing the series. Then, Amazon had a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" sale on select graphic novels, and so here we are.

I'm so happy I finally got to read the final chapters of the story in all its gory goodness. The violence and slaughter didn't disappoint, as Devin and the cannibal furries battle against the police force coming to kill them. What really surprised me about the ending was the romantic pairing between Devin and one of the cannibals. Though that is what saves his life, I really didn't expect the two to fall in love. In the back of the book is also a gallery of the different covers and ... because I'm starting to get into comic collecting ... I really want to pick-up some of these individual issues for nothing more than their covers.

well, damn, that ran a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm going to put the comic write-ups into a separate post for people to ignore.