A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, “Hi Yo Silver! Away!”

With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now, to the thrilling [...]]]>

The Lone Ranger

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, “Hi Yo Silver! Away!”

With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now, to the thrilling days of yesteryear – the Lone Ranger rides again!

The Lone Ranger’s Creed:

“I believe…..

That to have a friend, a man must be one.

That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

That ‘this government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ shall live always.

That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

That sooner or later…somewhere…somehow…we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.

In my Creator, my country, my fellow man.”

The Lone Ranger is a trade paperback / graphic novel that brings together issues one through six of The Lone Ranger comic book series as originally published by Dynamite.

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment (June 29, 2007)

It’s not easy being the little brother. For one thing, your older brother knows everything (or thinks he does) and what he doesn’t know, your father does – and neither one of them is even a little bit shy of pointing out when you’re wrong and they’re right. This means that you are forever trying to be like them, understand them and what they do.   Lessons can be hard earned.

Worse, it’s difficult to live up to what your father and brother stand for when they send you off to school while they stay behind fighting the bad guys.

Still, you manage. So imagine your surprise when you come home from school and you’re handed a badge and told to raise your right hand, say some words and mean em, and mount up!

You are now a bona fide Texas Ranger on the trail of law breakers, riding side by side with your family.

Exciting, right? This is what you’ve always wanted. This is the begin-gun shots ring out! All around you, men start to fall, even your father and your brother. You struggle as a bullet tears through your body, then another. You fall from your horse but still the shots ring out. They don’t stop until you and everyone around you stops moving.

It wasn’t the beginning, it was the end.

You wake up, surprised. An Indian is tending to your wounds.

He’s surprised that you’re awake too. No one else survived the ambush. You bury the men who fell around you, including your father and your brother. You add one more grave for yourself.

You throw away the name you were given at birth; that man is dead now.

You take up a new name, become a new man, a masked man. Who is that masked man? Not even you know that for sure just yet, but it’s time to find out who you are…

Well. What to say about this one.  It should’ve been longer.

I really wanted to like this and I wasn’t disappointed.  It started strong enough, telling the backstory of one John Reid, youngest son of a Texas Ranger who comes home and is accepted as a Ranger in his own right.  At this point – after the ambush, it did slow down – I think I would’ve liked the pacing to be quicker – they could have told much of the middle story in 20 fewer pages and not lost a bit of quality, imho.

I remember Saturday mornings watching WGN in Chicago – The Lone Ranger, Zorro and The Cisko Kid.  This brought back that memory of sitting cross-legged on the carpet, staring up at the tv and being a kid again, dreaming of being the swash buckling hero.

Having said that, this is a more modern telling of the story and as such, is much more violent, gritty and gory.  The art style is very dark and contemporary and it doesn’t have the overly buff and muscled characters you find so often in comics these days (the Mighty Marvel style) – which is a good thing.

It feels more like a movie than a comic or a tv episode.  We learn a lot about John Reid as he becomes The Lone Ranger, but very little about Tonto, which I hope is touched upon in another volume because they lay the foundation of a very interesting character.

The Lone Ranger will run you $20 at your local store sans any discounts you might receive or you can find it online for around $15.

~P

Make me famous:

With a name like Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, how could you not become a Wizard?

At the tender age of six years old, Harry Dresden became an orphan.  His mother, Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay McCoy Dresden, had died giving birth to Harry and his father, Malcolm, died of a brain [...]]]>

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden

With a name like Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, how could you not become a Wizard?

At the tender age of six years old, Harry Dresden became an orphan.  His mother, Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay McCoy Dresden, had died giving birth to Harry and his father, Malcolm, died of a brain aneurysm leaving Harry all alone.  For a few years, he lived in foster care until he turned ten and his ability with magic manifested itself.  Justin DuMorne, a former member of the White Council of Wizard’s, adopted Harry and a young girl named Elaine Mallory and took them as his apprentices to teach them the ways of magic.

He was a harsh Master.

When he and Elaine were in their teens, Justin showed his true colors; he enthralled Elaine to his will and attempted to do the same to Harry, all so he could used their power, combined with his own, to do terrible Black Magics.  Harry resisted.  A lot.  He killed his ‘Uncle Justin’ and was taken to the White Council to be executed for using Black Magic, one of several Laws of Magic they take very seriously.

The Seven Laws of magic are:

1. Thou shalt not kill by use of magic.
2. Thou shalt not transform others.
3. Thou shalt not invade the mind of another.
4. Thou shalt not enthrall another.
5. Thou shalt not reach beyond the Borders of Life.
6. Thou shalt not swim against the Currents of Time.
7. Thou shalt not seek beyond the Outer Gates.

Due to the circumstances and a plea for leniency on his behalf (assumed, it’s never been confirmed), the members of the White Council did not execute Harry, they instead placed him under the care of one Ebenezar McCoy and held the Doom of Damocles over his head; a strict law that gives the powerful Warden’s the right to execute Harry on the spot should they find he has turned to the Black or used it or crossed any rule or law in any way.

All grown up, Harry sets himself up in the city of Chicago and advertises in the local phone book as:

HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainment

Which brings us to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.

Welcome to the Jungle is a trade paperback / graphic novel that brings together issues one through four of the Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle miniseries as originally published by the Dabel Brothers (subsequent titles are now published by Dynamite).  Chronologically, this story takes place prior to the first novel in the series, Storm Front.

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Del Rey/Dabel Brothers (October 14, 2008)

“Welcome to the jungle.  Like any jungle, it is a world of predators and prey. Some of the most dangerous creatures in the world live here.  Very few of them are in cages. And none of them are what they appear to be.”

This is the opening lines of Welcome to the Jungle.

There’s been a mysterious murder at the zoo.  Kind of a high profile case, too.  The son of a local official has been found dead in front of the monkey cages.  But its weird.  Weird means one thing in Chicago: time to call in Special Investigations.

Karrin Murphy, Lieutenant, head of the S.I. division and someone who likes truth and justice to go hand in hand, not always easy with ‘weird’.  Still, she does her job well and, for the most part, the higher ups leave her alone because she closes cases.  She’s a little over five feet tall and full of spunk – Harry’s words, not mine.

She closes cases because she’s not afraid to call in a ’specialist’ from time to time.

Harry Dresden; closer to seven feet and change, makes for the dashing, hero-type image.  Really, he’s a brawler, a bruiser, he’s the Wildcat to the Justice League’s Batman.  Yeah, he can bring the power but sometimes he lacks finesse.  Doesn’t slow him down one bit, though.

When Murphy calls, Harry answers.  And not just because it could mean the difference between paying the rent and not paying the rent, there’s also the helping people out thing, which Harry has to do.  Maybe it’s the whole ‘Justin tried to turn him into an evil thrall to doom the world so he has to atone’ thing or maybe it’s a deep seated need to prove to the White Council that he’s not the scum of the earth.  Either way, she calls, he answers.

Wizard’s have a lot of tools in their arsenal; one of them is the Sight.  It allows them to see for themselves the after images left behind by trauma and death.  It’s difficult to do because what they see can affect them, essentially allow them to feel the same fears, pain and anxiety of a victim.  Worse, it never goes away; once you’ve seen something with the Sight, it stays with you forever.  Still, it will give Harry an idea of what really happened at the zoo, so he dips into the Sight and takes a look.

Not everyone is impressed with Harry’s abilities.

Mockery aside, Harry sees that something from his side of the tracks is responsible for this death.  Everyone else assumes it was a gorilla who somehow managed to escape his enclosure.  They want the animal put down.  The only ones who think different are Harry and Murphy, but her hands are tied unless he can bring her evidence.

Now it’s up to Harry; find the real killer, exonerate the gorilla and try not to get killed himself while doing it…

So.  I have read all of the Dresden novels up to Proven Guilty, which is #8.  I’m a fan.  Unlike most fans, I did not read the books before watching the series on the channel formerly known as Scifi.  They made a lot of changes that angered people (no blue beetle, dark haired Murphy, short Dresden).  This graphic novel has none of that – it’s a more true representation of the characters than those were – by far.  That’s the power of the comic, of course.  No need for lengthy casting calls.

As a prequel to the novels, this is an excellent story.  It has its slow parts just as any story, but its a strong story and I like it.  Just like any Dresden story, this one starts off with a minor event of Harry doing something to help out a client, then getting mixed up in something larger – in this case, the murder at the zoo.  His ‘aw shucks’ demeanor helps him in his investigation but when he needs to, he can turn off the hick-charm routine and go right into brawler mode, whipping out his blasting rod or his runic staff to kick some butt.

The artwork is fantastic.  I really enjoyed the detail put in.  It wasn’t over-the-top, which I was glad for given the subject matter.  I cringe to think of what the Marvel hero factory would’ve done to Dresden.  Probably some super tall, massively built uber-Thunder God looking dude, which Harry is not.  He gets his ass kicked people.  A lot.

At one point we even get a glimpse at Harry throwing down with old Uncle Justin, Elaine already enthralled beside him.

So – we have Murphy who looks like Murphy, we have Dresden who looks like Dresden and we have the Blue Beetle – already doing better than the tv show, right?  We also have Bob looking like Bob.  And talking like Bob.  I half expected him to demand trashy romance novels in return for answering some questions (he does that in the books from time to time).

The last element to make any Dresden story complete?  Mister the cat, of course. (Reminds me of the new cat in my house: Dakota the lion)

All in all this was a great book.  I admit it, I’m a fan of Dresden as a character so I might be a little biased but if you don’t know the books, this is a great place to get started.  It’s an easy read and introduces you to the elements of the world very nicely, giving you a little stepping off point to dive into the novels if you so choose.

Welcome to the Jungle will run you $20 at your local store sans any discounts you might receive or you can find it online for around $15.  It’s worth the extra rupees if you’re a collector/keeper because it has a nice jacket, thick hardcover and gloss interior stock paper.  Sorry, that’s the marketing guy in me shining through.

~P

Make me famous:

It is a time of upheaval for the galaxy.  The Mandalorian Wars have strained the Old Republic’s resources to the breaking point.

With so many forces at the front, systems in the outer rim teeter on the edge of lawlessness – [...]]]> 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin, the Old Republic was embroiled in a galactic war.

It is a time of upheaval for the galaxy.  The Mandalorian Wars have strained the Old Republic’s resources to the breaking point.

With so many forces at the front, systems in the outer rim teeter on the edge of lawlessness – even the city-world of Taris, once a thriving commercial center. Here, as elsewhere, the Republic relies on the Jedi Knights and their students to help maintain order.

But some Knights, frustrated with the conduct of the Wars, argue for a more active Jedi role, appealing to others for support.  Even from those Jedi – and their untried students – who are struggling to help maintain order at home…

Thus begins Star Wars-Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1: Commencement

Commencement is a trade paperback / graphic novel that brings together issues 0 through 6 of the Dark Horse comic-book series Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse (November 11, 2006)

When I was heavily collecting comics, the Dark Horse line of Star Wars books was on my list.  They were putting out some fantastic stuff. They continued after I was done, of course and with the convenience of the graphic novel, I can pick up a ‘complete’ story from the series in a single book, which rocks.

The Knights of the Old Republic series is great; it gives us a glimpse at the Star Wars universe long before any of the events we know and love have taken place and is chocked full of Jedi and Sith rocking the Force (yes, I just said that. Well, typed it) in ways Luke Skywalker never figured out.

In Commencement, we meet Zayne Carrick, a young Padawan struggling to become a Jedi Knight.  Zayne is clumsy, late all the time and seems to leave a trail of debris in his wake wherever he goes.  The story begins with his trying to arrest a Snivvian named Marn Hierogryph – Gryph for short, a con man selling everything under the sun to whoever can buy it.  Gryph is immune to Jedi mind tricks and, apparently, quite adept at escaping from Zayne whenever he manages to catch up to him.

On the day Zayne is to become a Jedi Knight, he manages to catch and hold Gryph.  Eager to show his Master his success, and running late for the Commencement ceremony, Zayne brings Gryph with him, in cuffs, to the Jedi Temple on Taris.  Rushing into the temple, an apology already spilling from his lips, he bursts into the ceremony to find…

…the Jedi Masters standing over their slaughtered Padawans.

“You’re late, young one,” says his Master, Lucien.

And if THAT doesn’t make you want to read this book, I don’t know what will.

Marn Hierogryph

From that point on, it’s a race as Zayne tries to first escape from the Jedi Masters who killed his friends, then figure out why they killed them in the first place and why they want him dead as well.  He and Gryph are thrown together as fugitives on the run with the Jedi, the Civil Authorities and Bounty Hunters all tracking them.  Gryph leads them into the Undercity and to the Junk Junction where they inadvertently draw Jarael & Camper, a strange pair with a ship who are hiding from the universe in general, into their adventure.

I have to say, this was an incredibly enjoyable book. It had all the elements of an excellent Star Wars story – heck, of -any- story; mystery, tragedy, adventure – you name it.  The artwork is awesome, the story compelling.  I also like the twist; The first few pages lead you to believe that you’re going to read a Master/Apprentice story.  We are introduced to Zayne who can’t seem to get things right and then to his friends, all Padawan’s who have faced the trials and are soon to be Jedi.  They sympathize with Zayne, who doesn’t think he’s going to make the cut and will have to watch them move on without him.  The ceremony is set, the cast set and then WHAM!  Twist.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1: Commencement retails for $20 at your local book store, or you can get it online for $12 or so.

~P

Make me famous:

Gone is the magically powered Alan Scott (the Golden Age Green Lantern), replaced by a fighter/test pilot named Hal Jordan who is the first [...]]]> October 1959; DC comics editor Julius Schwartz, writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane introduce a new, Silver Age version of a classic comic character to the world – The Green Lantern.

Gone is the magically powered Alan Scott (the Golden Age Green Lantern), replaced by a fighter/test pilot named Hal Jordan who is the first human being enlisted by an interstellar police force known as the ‘Green Lantern Corps’.  Assigned to patrol sector 2814 by the Guardians on OA, Hal Jordan is a hero.  That lasts until the 90’s when stuff starts to go wrong for old Hal.  First he gives up the ring for Carol Ferris, his long time love, only to find out she’s been living a double life.  He finds he way back to the ring and, after the Guardians disappear for a bit, forms a new Corps on earth with some friends.  When that goes sour, he goes back to being just another GL until his home city is destroyed, the Guardians return and put him on trial and he decides he’s had it and becomes something new and different: Parallax.

As Parallax, Hal causes all sorts of trouble and becomes an enemy to just about everyone and everything.  Insane, he tries to rewrite history and it takes all the heroes around to stop him and kill him.  End of story, right?

Fraid not.

Hal’s spirit or soul becomes attached to or taken by The Spectre.  Normally a ’spirit of vengeance’, the Spectre likes that Hal wants to make up for what he did as Parallax, so he/it decides to let Hal continue to try and redeem himself, which eventually leads to why we’re all here:

Green Lantern: Rebirth.

Rebirth is a trade paperback / graphic novel that brings together the 5 issue mini-series by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver & Prentis Rollins.

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: DC Comics; Trade Paper edition (March 28, 2007)

Keep in mind that I haven’t picked up a GL comic since Kyle Rayner took over in the 90’s.  Rayner is not a favorite of mine at all, as I’ve mentioned before, and really all of his stuff came after I stopped with the comics on account I needed to pay my bills and my comic book habit was interfering with that.   So, when I decided to pick up ‘Rebirth’, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew the stuff above; that Jordan had gone nuts, that he’d died then come back, but didn’t know about the Spectre thing or that John Stewart was still running around with a ring.  Didn’t even know that Guy Gardner no longer had a ring and was, instead, some sort of ‘warrior’.

So no matter what happened, I had high hopes for something entertaining.  Sort of like seeing an old friend again after a long absence.  I wasn’t disappointed.

You can’t keep a good comic book character down

Comic book characters, like The Master from Doctor Who, just won’t stay dead no matter how many times or how many different ways you kill em.  That includes Hal Jordan.

A lot of times in comics, a ‘reboot’ of a character means they are either going to toss out the old mythology that you knew and loved in favor of a ‘new and reimagined’ version (Man of Steel, Ultimate Spider-Man).  With Green Lantern, they sort of already did that with Emerald Dawn 1 and 2.  A lot has happened since then so I was very happy to see that they weren’t just going to start over, they instead gave us a true ‘rebirth’ of the characters and the mythology but kept what we already knew, loved and in some cases, hated.

The first thing we see is Kyle Rayner doing his job, protecting the universe.  Not just his sector, all the sectors.  He is the only active Green Lantern left so it’s his job to protect everyone and everything.  Tough gig.

Then he gets a translated message from some locals on the very edge of the universe itself that makes him go, “Huh?!”

Yikes, right?!  I mean, that’s Hal Jordan! He was Parallax!

So now we see what old Hal is up to; he’s Hal, but he’s also The Spectre and there’s still a little bit of Parallax in there thrown in for good measure.  Kinda crowded in his head, really.

The first dozen or more pages are a walk down memory lane and a treat for those of us who’ve been around and reading forever.  We get to see the characters we’ve known while the new reader gets introductions and brief backstories.  We even get to see an Abin Sur-like crash landing to kick things off (Kyle crashing home to earth).

The little jaunt down memory lane reintroduces (or introduces, depending on your knowledge of the mythology) us to Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Carol Ferris, The Green Arrow (one of my absolute favorites), the Green Lantern Corps, The Spectre &, of course, Parallax.  If you aren’t familiar with the last ten years of mythology (like me), it’s a great quick and concise catch up that sets the foundation for the story.

We see that Hal still struggles with what he did as Parallax, that The Spectre isn’t content to just be a spirit of ‘redemption’ (he throws in some vengeance whenever he can), and that something bad is coming and coming soon.

The first clue is the message to Kyle Rayner, the second is when Guy Gardner’s new powers explode, the third when Coast City, Hal’s home town that was destroyed by Mongul after Superman’s death, suddenly reappears sans any people (something Hal tried to do but got blocked by the Guardians which lead to the whole Parallax thing in the first place).

Cameo’s from the Justice League show us that whatever’s afoot, Batman for one, is ready to blame Hal who, he says, “Always had an EGO.  He never worried when things came crashing down.  He never prepared.  He just flew in.  Damn the consequences.  We should’ve known back then a man like him couldn’t be trusted.”  This leads to one of the best moments in the book for me – John Stewart versus Batman that culminates in the following statement:

Brilliant.  That sums up the Dark Knight so well.

Meanwhile, we’re taking a walk down memory lane with Hal and Carol who’re remembering their past together.  Hal doesn’t seem to have any idea that anything weird is going on or that the Justice League is coming for him until they’re right on top of him.  At this point, John Stewart goes nuts and starts attacking people.  At this same moment, Hal Jordan’s old ring, now in the care of Green Arrow, activates and duplicate’s itself (which I didn’t know it could do!) and Guy Gardner’s condition changes and he becomes a Green Lantern again.

When John goes nuts and starts attacking the JLA, Hal tries to help but the Spectre says ‘no’ and takes him away for a chat where we learn the origins of Parallax (the ‘real’ origins).  I won’t ruin it for you.

We also learn that the big bad has returned and who is the biggest & baddest for the Green Lanterns?  Why, their greatest member, fallen into disgrace, of course.  Sinestro:

As an aside, can I just say – I love Green Arrow.  I love the smart-ass mouth, the attitude, the whole package.

I made a mistake when I bought this book; I thought they were resurrecting Hal Jordan which, really, they did – but that wasn’t the only goal here.  See, they were very smart and very cool and they really resurrected The Green Lantern; the Corps, the Guardians, the Enemies, the Mythos – and it’s fantastic.

You start to think that it’s going to be a JLA story (what with all the cameos), and for a while, as Parallax returns, it’s the JLA who hold him back.  But as Hal gets his ring on again, we see that it’s not about the JLA or Hal Jordan, but about the Green Lantern’s as a whole.  Oh, and he has it out with Batman which is priceless.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Bats, I do, but there aren’t enough people who just tell him to fuck off every once in a while.

He really should’ve seen that coming…

After this, the Corps gets the band back together to take care of business.

I’m being intentionally vague on these bits because I don’t want to be all spoilery on you.  But here’s a clue:

Overall, Green Lantern: Rebirth is a very entertaining book full of stuff for the long time fan but is also a nice starting point for someone just picking it up.  GL has always been full of scifi goodness and has a special place in my heart.  It’ll run you $18 (cover price sans any discounts you might have) at a brick and mortar store but you can find it online for $10 and it’s well worth your time and money.  The art and writing are fantastic but you won’t be able to read this one alone, oh no – you’ll find yourself wanting more…

~P

Make me famous:

In this weeks ATFMB podcast, I talk about scifi television, including the renewal of Fox hit Fringe for a 3rd season, Chuck’s ratings win that might mean a 4th season and how i09 has a list of 25 books Hollywood should be making movies out of, how HBO has greenlit a new series based on [...]]]> #11

In this weeks ATFMB podcast, I talk about scifi television, including the renewal of Fox hit Fringe for a 3rd season, Chuck’s ratings win that might mean a 4th season and how i09 has a list of 25 books Hollywood should be making movies out of, how HBO has greenlit a new series based on the Song of Fire and Ice fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, how Bruce Wayne, like every other comic book character who has ever died before him, is ‘coming back’ to the DC Universe and how Comics Should Be Good – which is the title of a new blog that I absolutely love.  In music, I share with you my thoughts on Susan Tedeschi, blues goddess and not so secret crush.

~P

Susan Tedeschi on iTunes

Comics Should be Good

DCU Bruce Wayne Returns

Susan Tedeschi

Make me famous:

~P

(Click for a larger version)

~P