16th
2008's books - the first 25
I’m attempting to read 100 books (including prose and graphic novels) in 2008. Here are the first 25.
1. Planet Hulk — Greg Pak provides a classic Hulk epic. Hulk is shot in to space by his supposed friends, aiming him for a peaceful planet. But the ship is diverted to a war-torn planet, and Hulk finds himself fighting for his life.
2. Annihilation Book One — Annilhus’ hordes are sweeping the galaxy, wiping out civilizations in days. The Xandarian Nova Corps falls to the onslaught, leaving only Richard Ryder, the Nova from Earth, as the last surviving member of the Corps. With the Nova Corps Worldmind now as his ally, embedded in his consciousness, Nova must attempt to stop this wave of destruction.
3. Annihilation, Book Two by Keith Giffen and others
Collects Annihilation: Silver Surfer 1-4, Annihilation: Super-Skrull 1-4 and Annihilation: Ronan 1-4. The Annihilation Wave continues to work its way across space, destroying planets in its wake. The Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull and Ronan each stand up to the wave in their own way.
4. Annihilation, Book Three by Keith Giffen and others
The heroes of the Annihilation band together as Annihilus and his ally, Thanos, attempt to unlock the secrets of cosmic power.
5. Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3: Until the Stars Turn Cold — The third of the J. Michael Straczynski arcs on Amazing Spider-Man. Despite a few clunkers, JMS had a good handle on Spider-Man.
6. Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4: The Life and Death of Spiders
Another JMS entry; Spider-Man faces off against a natural predator who wants to feed on his totemic energy.
7. Wild Cards: Inside Straight
The relaunch of the popular alternate history with superheroes anthology series edited by George RR Martin.
8. Nova Vol. 1
Tying into “Annihilation,” Nova gets his own series. He also finds out what’s gone on on Earth in his abscence.
9. Cerebus High Society
With Dave Sim in the public eye again, I decided to reread his political satire “High Society” and see if it held up. It did.
10. Secret Wars
The book is written by Jim Shooter, one of my favorite writers for his “Legion” and Valiant Comics, among others. The artists are Mike Zeck, who I love on “Captain America” and “Punisher,” and Bob Layton, known for his classic “Iron Man.” However, this series, with these talented individuals, still goes off the rails.
The series was conceived when Mattel wanted to license the Marvel Heroes, but only if they could tie it to a big publishing initiative featuring lots of heroes and villains. Then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter complied, and the resulting “Secret Wars” sold through the roof. (The toy line didn’t fare as well, but 12 figures in total were released.)
11. Alex Raymond: His Life and Art
A biography/art book about the “Flash Gordon” and “Rip Kirby” artist. Highly informative and recommended.
12. “Coyote” Vol. 1 by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.
From my Nerdage blog:
“Coyote” was born from a trip writer Steve Englehart took to the desert. The trickster character Coyote is able to walk between worlds, rendering himself invisible. The cocky lead character is nevertheless compelling. He faces off against a shadowy villain determined to realign the world order.
13. Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton
Curiosity got the best of me. This is actually very well-researched and fairly interesting. I can’t imagine Scientologists will be big on some of the conclusions of the book, but I thought it was an interesting recap of the actor’s career.
14. Spider-Man: Drowned in Thunder by Christopher L. Bennett
Bennett, who has written several “Star Trek” books, writes a pretty good Spider-Man tale here. When robots begin attacking Manhattan, J. Jonah Jameson blames Spider-Man. Spidey, meanwhile, thinks Jameson is responsible. Meanwhile, Spidey is growing more paranoid by the day as he searches for the source behind the mystery robots.
15. Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets, by Keith R.A. Candido — A new drug, Triple X, combines the high of ecstacy with temporary super powers. But these powers come with a price — most of the users die. Spider-Man must track down the source of this new drug, and attempt to save some of his students in the process.
16. X-Men: Dark Mirror, by Marjorie M. Liu— Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Jean Grey find their personalities in new bodies — inmates at an asylum. They must escape, and find the rest of the X-Men, before whoever is now inhabiting their bodies can do irreparable harm.
17. Batman: The Killing Joke — By Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, possibly the greatest Joker story ever told, also probably the creepiest. Recolored for a new hardcover edition, and now containing an additional story by Bolland.
18. Superman vs Hollywood — An extremely interesting recap of the various shenanigans the Man of Steel has gone through over the years in attempts to make movies and TV shows.
19. Avengers Assemble Vol 5: By Kurt Busiek and Kieron Dwyer. The Kang War is basically Busiek’s big finale to the Avengers, and he pulls out all the stops. Fans of the current “Battlestar Galactica” might like this, actually. Lots of major storylines wrapped up, and very satisfying to read all together.
20. newuniversal: Everything Went White by Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca. Ellis re-imagines Marvel’s 1980s “New Universe” concept as four humans being chosen as a vanguard for a shift in reality. Really nicely done, only complaint is six issues isn’t nearly enough - it feels as if it’s barely gotten started when it ends, and as of yet, the six issues in this collection is all there is. (There is a new issue scheduled for May, I believe.)
21. Mastering the Universe, by Roger Sweet and David Wecker
The memoir of Roger Sweet, the toy designer who came up with the bulked up look for the “Masters of the Universe” line of toys and the “He-Man” name for the lead character. Sweet’s does come off as a little bitter about his lack of credit, but the book’s a very interesting look at toy design and corporate culture. There’s not much about the fictional world of He-Man, but quite a bit about toy design and marketing. Overall, kind of brief and padded in places, but worth a look for those interested in the business of toys.
22. “All Too Human,” by George Stephanopoulos
I really enjoy inside politics-type books, and Stephanopoulous’ look at his time in Bill Clinton’s campaign and White House was interesting reading.
23. X-Men: Smoke and Mirrors by Eluki Bes Shahar
Bes Shahar writes a novel that focuses on the anti-mutant prejudice and a scientist that promises a “cure.” Similar territory has been tread in the comics — and in “X-Men: The Last Stand” — but Bes Shahar, in this 1997 novel, treats the matter with more depth than the more recent film.
The “Ohio Mutant Conspiracy,” a team of young mutants drawn into the conflict, are well-developed (and, incidentally, named after 1970s Marvel Comics writers). Wolverine, Gambit and Rogue are the core characters in this one.
24. Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle and Jock
The creative team behind DC-Vertigo’s “Losers” take on the Emerald Archer, Oliver Queen. This reinterpretation of Green Arrow’s origin sees Queen as a rich adrenaline junkie who learns who he is after his best friend leaves him for dead. Strongly worth a read, and what I hope they’d base a “Green Arrow” movie on.
25. Two Guns, by Steven Grant and Mat Santolouco
Reviewed this over at Nerdage.
The artist, Mat Santolouco, brings a light touch to the script, which, despite the violence, at times has a comedic tone, along the lines of an “Ocean’s 11.”
Definitely worth checking out for fans of things like “Last of the Independents,” “The Bank Job,” and crime/heist films and comics in general.