Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman

I saw this graphic novel go by at work and thought it would be a fun mash-up.  Batman and Tarzan are actually quite alike in a lot of ways!  They are both orphans who have taken it upon themselves to defend their respective jungles.

This story opens with Bruce Wayne having funded a new wing in Gotham's Museum of Natural History (in memory of his parents).  He has financed a second expedition to Africa so that the explorer, Finnegan Dent, can finish what he started on the first one.  At the wing opening ceremony, Bruce Wayne meets John Clayton, Lord Greystoke (aka Tarzan of the Apes), who had business in New York and so made a point of coming to Gotham for the unveiling.

Later that night, a Catwoman breaks into the Museum to steal some of the artifacts.  She's not Selina Kyle; instead she is Princess Khefretari of the Hidden City of Memnon.  Finnegan Dent found the city and stole many of their artifacts; he's going to use the second expedition to finish his looting.

So Batman, Tarzan (who realized Batman is Bruce Wayne due to his smell), and Khefretari team up to stop Finnegan Dent!

This book was a lot of fun.  I think I'm going to go and read Tarzan of the Apes next because of it!  :)

Wytches

Wow.  What a fascinating and terrifying take on witches.

I can't remember how I stumbled on Scott Snyder's Wytches.  But I am super glad I snagged it from the library (and even more glad that I was able to - it was due back in mid-December and didn't get returned until last week!  I had honestly given up hope, believing it was never coming back!)

Alright, now how to describe this thing?  The Rooks family has moved to a new town for a fresh start.  Lucy, the mother, had been in a car accident that left her unable to walk.  Sailor, the daughter, had been bullied by another girl.  But that girl had disappeared into a tree in front of Sailor.  And because the truth sounds crazy, no one believed her.

But unfortunately, trouble follows them to their new home.  Because Sailor was pledged to the Wytches, ancient beings who will grant you wishes in exchange for food.  They prefer to eat younger people because they are tastier; they cook them in their burrows (in what's called a cauldron - I think the idea was that it's deeper in the earth, so it's using the earth's natural heat to cook you).  As a consolation, you won't even remember the person who was pledged. 

Sailor feels like she's going crazy as she starts seeing the Wytches in the woods (and hearing the chit chit chit of their teeth).  Her father wants to help her, but doesn't believe what's going on until a crazy woman breaks into their house after Sailor's gone missing.  With her help, her father will brave the barrow to save his daughter.  But the Wytches aren't going to let their meal go without a fight.

Like I said, this is quite the terrifying but fascinating take on the idea of a witch.  I loved every moment of the story.  The artwork was interesting and suited it as well; unfortunately I did have a bit of a hard time following what was going on at times though.  But still, this was well worth the read.  I'll have to keep my eye out for volume 2!

Thor: the Goddess of Thunder

When I read Old Man Logan the other day, I also attempted a couple of other Marvel books. I say "attempted" because I made it through a couple of pages of one and just flipped through the other. I didn't care and really couldn't get into them. So it was with some trepidation that I picked up Thor: the Goddess of Thunder. Apparently I liked the idea of a woman Thor enough to actually give it a shot though. Having just finished it, I'm really glad I did!

Thor has become unworthy of Mjolnir after Nick Fury whispered something in his ear. He remains on the moon pleading with the hammer which he can no longer pick up. But when Midgard is attacked by frost giants, he goes to defend the realm he loves even without his beloved hammer. But then a woman picks it up. Mjolnir has found her worthy and so bequeaths her the power of Thor (including a handy mask to hide her identity).

This was an awesome story and now I want to know who the new Thunder Goddess can possibly be!!! I'll have to keep my eye out for more of this story!!!

The Broken Word

I got to interview Adam Foulds for a blog at work. During the interview we spoke a bit about The Broken Word. It sounded like a really interesting read so I picked it up, but only just got to it now.

The Broken Word is the story of Tom, who comes home to Kenya after high school when the May May uprising is happening. He is brought along to with the men (his father's friends) on a hunting party where he shoots an insurgent to the praise of the other men, who feel he has made it through a rite of passage. From there he finds himself a prison guard for the Loyalists, becoming more and more desensitised to violence. In the end though, he decides to go back to university. But he is changed, having become more brutal and violent as a result of his experiences with war.

The Broken Word is written in verse. When I first started reading it, I admit that I had a bit of a hard time following what was going on. But after getting to Chapter 2 or 3, I seemed to "get it," and started to really enjoy the book. Verse was an interesting yet fitting way to talk about the atrocities of war. The sparseness of the text really suited this tale.

I will admit that the ending felt a bit lacklustre. Up until that point I was willing to rate The Broken Word 4/5 stars on Goodreads. After the last chapter I felt like my rating would go down. But in the end I thought it deserved 3.5/5 stars, which I rounded back up to 4.

Saga: Volume 5

Well crap.  This is it.  The last Collected Edition of Saga.  Saga: Volume 5 ends with Chapter 33.  According to the Image Comics website, Saga #32 is coming out next week.  So even if I rush out tomorrow to get the comics, I can only get one more right now.

Anyway, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself.  Volume 5 takes place a few months after Volume 4.  Marko and Robot Prince IV have been chasing after their families but haven't yet been successful.  Meanwhile, Dengo, the Robot janitor, has contacted the Last Revolution, a group of rebels who want to end the war.  Of course, the Last Revolution aren't good guys: they've blown up daycare centers and decapitated thousands of innocent civilians.  Alana and Klara (Marko's mother) try to warn him (while simultaneously trying to escape) but he insists on talking to the resistance.  Of course, as soon as they open their mouths, Dengo realizes Alana and Klara were right.


Meanwhile Marko gets high thanks to Yuma (Heist's ex wife), which puts his whole expedition at risk when Robot Prince IV is forced to call a doctor to help.  And Gwendolyn, Sophie, Lying Cat, and The Brand (The Will's Sister) have fun adventures trying to get the magical ingredient they need to save The Will: dragon semen. 

Things all come to a head when the Last Revolution makes a deal to exchange Hazel for hundreds of their people who are imprisoned.  Unfortunately the government they make this deal with is not the ally of the Robot people; they demand Dengo's death before a deal can be made.  Dengo and Klara manage to get away but are split up.  Klara (with Hazel) attempts to free Alana but is recaptured in the process.  Dengo and Alana escape the ship thinking Klara and Hazel were already off it.  The ship jumps away, separating Alana from the rest of her family.  But luckily Marko has made it to the planet, so she is reunited with him.  Unfortunately for Dengo, Robot Prince IV is there too.  He is reunited with his son.


So yeah, that's where Volume 5 leaves off.  So much has happened.  And there's still so much going on!  I want more like right now!  Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait though. :(

On a super awesome note, thanks to my Saga reading marathon, I have caught up with my Goodreads reading challenge!  At the beginning of the year my plan was to read 50 books off the List.  But that didn't happen (and honestly, not a whole lot of reading has been happening this year), so I decided to count all the books I've read this year, bringing me up from 24 List books to 48 total books (including all five Saga volumes).  I kind of feel like I cheated a bit, using graphic novels to inflate the numbers a bit, but realistically I've only got two weeks left to hit 50 books and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.  I'm not quite sure what I'm going to read for the remaining two books yet, but at least I'm now on track! 

Saga: Volume 4

Wow.  Saga: Volume 4 takes place a bit after Volume 3.  Hazel is a toddler now.  Alana has been working for the Open Circuit, which seemed to be a television network.  The troupe wears costumes, so it was a safe place for Alana to make money.  Unfortunately the hours are long and she gets involved in drugs, pushing her further and further from her family.  For his part, Marko tries to give Hazel a normal childhood.  He signs her up for private dance lessons with a woman who likewise has a distant husband. 

Meanwhile, Robot Prince IV's wife has their son.  Not long afterwards, a Robot janitor kills her and takes the baby, intending to start a revolution.  Robot Prince IV is informed of his wife's death (although he seemingly has no memory of even having a wife).  He heads first to his father for help.  But getting none from that quarter, he gets help from an unlikely source: Special Agent Gale.  Gale sends him after his son.  Robot Prince IV arrives just in time for his son to blast off in the tree rocket along with Alana, Hazel, Marko's mother, and Izabel.  Marko and Robot Prince IV join forces to find their families.

Oh yeah, and Sophie and Gwendolyn have discovered a spell that might cure The Will!  Now they just need to go about finding the ingredients.

This volume was awesome!  I hope Volume 5 continues at this pace!  (But even if it doesn't, it'll still be good!)

Saga: Volume 3

Well here we are: Saga: Volume Three.  Some really crazy things happened in this one!  The Will, Gwendolyn, and Slave Girl landed on a planet to repair their ship before continuing pursuit of Marko and Alana.  But the planet's food infected them all, trying to get them to stay as hosts for some sort of parasite.  The parasite appears to The Will as The Stalk; he almost listens to "her," but at the last minute decides to continue pursuing Marko.  Or at least that is his plan, until Slave Girl stabs him in the neck by order of the parasite (appearing as her mother).  Gwendolyn, with the help of Lying Cat, figures out what's going on. Finding The Will almost dead, she realizes the only person who might be able to heal him is Marko.  So she heads to Quietus where she knows he will be.

But of course, Prince Robot IV has already beaten her to Quietus.  He arrives in the home of D. Oswald Heist, the author who wrote the book that inspired Alana in the first place.  Heist claims he wrote the book for a quick paycheck, trying to cover for the fact that the fugitives are already in his place (and have been for a week!)  Things go horribly wrong when Marko's mother tries to save Heist from the Prince and Gwendolyn and Lying Cat storm in. 

Volume Three is another interesting romp by Vaughan and Staples.  I can't wait to see what happens next!!!