12th
Books, the second half
I’ve been attempting to read 52 prose books this year, and I have just recently completed No. 52! I’m excited. Here’s Nos. 27-52. Nos. 1-26 can be found here.
27. Assembled: Five Decades of Earth’s Mightiest
Essays and articles about Marvel Comics’ Avengers, from the ‘Jarvis Heads’ at AvengersAssemble.net.
Very worthwhile for Avengers fans.
28. Avengers: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow by David Michelinie
One of the better Marvel novels I’ve read this year, and probably the best one from the 1979 series of Marvel novels. The end is a little haphazard, but it’s strong to that point, and a good use of the late 1970s-era Avengers lineup.
29. Captain America: Holocaust for Hire by Joseph Silva
This features Cap facing off against the Red Skull, attempting to raise hate, take over the world, etc etc. This one didn’t work as well for me, despite being about my favorite Marvel character.
30. Fantastic Four: Countdown to Chaos, by Pierce Askegren
The Mad Thinker has a massive plot involving many seemingly unconnected events kicking off a countdown — to chaos, naturally. It’s up to the Fantastic Four to piece together the plot and put things right. Guest-starring the Inhumans, which was fun.
31. Zero Game, by Brad Meltzer
A congressional aide thinks he’s making secret bets on legislation - but it turns out the “Zero Game” is something far more deadly.
32. Perry Mason: The Case of the Fenced-in Woman, by Erle Stanley Gardner
My mom loves these, and I was looking for something to read at her house. This is one of two “Perry Mason” novels published after the author’s death, and while a few of the courtroom shenanigans are a little farfetched, it’s still entertaining courtroom drama in the “Perry Mason” style.
33. Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare, by William Rotsler
Also from the 1979 Pocket Books series of superhero novels. This one is more adult, with some implied sex and nudity and so on. Overall, it didn’t really work for me, though the flashback to Dr. Strange’s origin was well-enough done.
34. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman
Klosterman analyzes pop-culture pap like “Saved By the Bell” and “The Real World” in such a way that you think it’s actually interesting. I probably should write more about this one, as it was insightful and enjoyable, but, time’s at a premium (as per usual).
35. Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker, by Otto Binder
One of the first Marvel novels published, it’s a little clunky. The Avengers don’t seem all that uptight about possibly killing or torturing a guy, also. While the cover indicates Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are part of the Avengers lineup, in the text, we get the non-pictured Iron Man and Wasp instead (to go along with the pictured Captain America, Hawkeye and Goliath).
36. Come On Down!: Behind the Big Doors at “The Price Is Right” by Stan Blits.
The contestant co-ordinator (and music director, and co-producer, and staff writer) of “The Price is Right” has written a behind-the-scenes book about the show. It’s brief but interesting, with highlights of how the show is put on, and interesting contestant stories.
Annette and Karen and I met this guy for like a minute each when we went to “The Price is Right” in 2001. Blits says often he has more good contestants picked out than he can get on the show, and I’m sure that’s what happened to us.
37. Spider-Man: Mayhem in Manhattan, by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman
The first novel ever featuring Spider-Man, from the 1970s Marvel line. This had a 70s Spidey feel to it — and probably should have, given that the writers were very prolific Marvel writers of the time. One of Spidey’s classic villains (it’s left a mystery in the text for a while, though most will figure it out) is blackmailing the world’s oil companies. The plot is, well, about as silly as a lot of what we got in 1970s comics, but, still worth checking out for Spider-Fans. I’m going to attempt to find and read all the novels from the 1970s Marvel run, though they might not all be this year.
38. Confessions from the Corner Office: 15 Instincts That Will Help You Get There, by Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore
This has an Oklahoma connection, as Pattye Moore is a former Sonic president, and Scott Aylward is an advertising agency CEO who worked on the account. The two share their insights on the so-called “soft skills” of leadership.
I suppose this is as good of a place as any to mention I was recently promoted to Assistant Features Editor at the paper, and I felt like it was a good idea to refresh some leadership skills. I didn’t agree with everything in the book, but I did find some helpful info.
39. Superman Returns, by Marv Wolfman
Getting back on a Marv Wolfman kick, this is the adaptation of the 2006 film. While (SPOILERS AHOY) there’s no mention of Lois’ child Jason being Superman’s kid in this version (possibly to avoid spoiling the reveal in the film), there is a lot of extra background on Krypton and Lex Luthor. Out of the first six chapters, I think only one actually shows up in the finished film. A quick read, but enjoyable.
40. Comics Creators on Fantastic Four, by Tom DeFalco
Former Marvel editor-in-chief and ‘Fantastic Four’ writer DeFalco interviews many of the writers and artists who have worked on the FF comic over the years. Interesting stuff, has some good insights on what’s made the property so successful. Too bad there’s not a ‘vintage’ interview with Kirby to get his thoughts, but maybe that’s another book.
41. Iron Man: And Call My Killer … Modok! by William Rotsler
Another from the 1970s Marvel prose line, by the same writer who wrote the ‘Dr. Strange’ one. Decent, I suppose, though not riveting. (Yes, I’m clever.) I love the title, though. And, pretty cool painted cover by Bob Larkin.
42. Modern Masters: Jerry Ordway. (Artist of the recent Sterling Gates story!)
43. X-Men: Empire’s End by Diane Duane — The X-Men must help the Shiar fight an intergalactic threat.
44. IV, Chuck Klosterman - don’t agree with it all, but it’s certainly interesting reading.
45. (Not that You Asked), Steve Almond. — the “Candyfreak” author ruminates about baseball, Kurt Vonnegut, and more.
46. X-Men: Soul Killer by Richard Lee Byers — The horror writer crosses the X-Men with Dracula and Belasco in a half-superhero/half-horror type novel.
47. X-Men Mutant Empire Book One: Siege, by Christopher Golden. — Magneto takes over Project: Wideawake, which houses the mutant-hunting Sentinels. Cyclops’ father, Corsair, is set to be executed in the distant Shi’ar empire. Two teams of X-Men must attempt to put a stop to these events.
48. Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham - A journeyman backup quarterback screws up so badly, he must go to a semi-pro league in Italy to find employment as a player. But once there, he remembers what he loves about the game — and learns something about himself.
49. Fargo Rock City, by Chuck Klosterman — Klosterman’s first book, in which he waxes nostalgic about KISS and Motley Crue. Great writing which, despite that, didn’t really make me want to check out the music he was writing about. (Not entirely true: It did make me want to listen to GNR, who he also writes about. But I already liked their music.)
50. Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves — Originally a proposal for an animated series, Gaiman and Reaves write an interesting tale of a teen-ager who finds he can traverse between alternate earths.
51. Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman — Probably the most self-indulgent of Klosterman’s books, he ponders his previous relationships while visiting the sites of famous rock n roll deaths.
52. Tip-Off: How the 1984 Draft Changed Basketball Forever, by Filip Bondy
Bondy covers the careers of several of the big names in the 1984 draft — Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, Stockton — and the not-so-big names, like Sam Bowie, now famous mostly for being chosen ahead of Michael Jordan in the draft. (Bondy argues, fairly successfully, that Bowie looks like a bust mainly because he was chosen before other people who did better — he did have a 10-year NBA career, and at times averaged double figures.)
