Robert A. Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy as adapted by Robert Lazaro

I have always been a big fan of Robert A.Heinlein. Citizen of the Galaxy was one of the first books of his that I read. I remember well meeting and getting to know the main character, Thorby Baslim. I must have reread his adventures 10 or 12 times. So I was predisposed to like the graphic novel.

The basic story starts with Thorby being bought at a slave market as a child by what seems to be a beggar. As he grows older, Thorby realizes there is more to his "father" than just a beggar. Eventually Thorby winds up on a Free Trader ship, adopted into their family as a way to repay a debt. Then he joins the military and sooner rather than later winds up on Earth, in a way that he could never have imagined. There he realizes that his troubles are far from over.

While this was a reasonably good adaptation of the story, I felt it could have been better served as a multivolume edition. There were some important subplots that had to be removed in order for the book to fit into a single edition graphic novel. I was sorry to see them gone.

As far as that goes, however, it was a good introduction to Heinlein's story that could entice new readers, younger readers, to read the book after finishing the graphic novel. I will look for a copy to put in my classroom library. It is worth a read.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Good, old fashioned, hard-core science fiction here. Andy Weir took the idea what if, on a manned mission to Mars, one of the astronauts was accidentally left behind? A simple enough idea that he fleshes out into an incredibly good book. How good? Caused me to get 4 hours of sleep two nights in a row so I could finish it.

Weir used multiple viewpoints to get the book written. He developed the characters well, especially Mark Watney--the title character. Watney's humor keeps the book from getting too depressing or heavy. It's not that he does not face dire and life-threatening situations, it's that he does so with an almost unfailing good humor. It's a big part of what kept me reading. A smart ass underdog, who couldn't like a character like that?

Weir also seems to be very up on his science. Everything he wrote about Martian conditions and the science of what was going on made sense to me. And, as I am a bit of a science nerd, that was important. The space travel aspect was also realistic.

There is quite a bit of profanity in the book. That will probably preclude me from putting it my classroom library for seventh graders. I'm not a prude, but the sheer number of f-bombs gets to be problematic for that grade level. I would recommend it, though. It is a great ride with twists and turns right up to the end.

Smoke and Mirrors by Mike Costa

I was going through the graphic novel section of the library when I came across this book. I liked this story. It had many unexpected twists and turns. The alternate world developed by Costa is logical and consistent (with the exception of both speaking English). He layered the story well, dropping little surprises here and there that kept me interested throughout.

Imagine a world where magic was real and really worked on established and understood principles. A world similar to ours, but not identical. This is the world that stage magician Terry Ward finds himself in. To survive he becomes a street performer, his tricks and illusions--never seen on this world before--are as amazing to people there as to people here.

He has created a solitary existence for himself, always afraid that he will be discovered for being the only nonmagical person on the planet. Ethan is a young man who is not satisfied with the commonplace magic of his world. When he sees Ward perform, he is mystified, and batters his way past Ward's emotional defenses to become his pupil.

Before the story is finished, Ward finds himself up against one of the most accomplished magicians of this world he's found himself in.

It's a good one-shot graphic novel. Worth giving it a read.

Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers by Nick Offerman

I really enjoyed listening to Nick Offerman's first book, Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living, and was looking forward to his second book with a great deal of anticipation. I was not disappointed.

In this book Offerman talks about gumption:  combination of hard work, courage, and a willingness to go down the less travelled road. It began in an almost expected way--with several of the Founding Fathers. What made his biographical sketches of them different were the way he told these stories and his own particular interpretations of their lives and the lessons he learned from them. Offerman is a great story teller. And while he takes himself lightly, he does not take his message lightly: that an intrinsic quality of the American character is the willingness to go against the grain and to do your own thing. More than that, though, to do it well enough that you can make enormous change--whether this is what you set out to do or not.

The book was idiosyncratic in that, after some of the expected historical figures (Washington, Franklin, Madison) and moving to other, less expected, figures (Frederick Douglass, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt) his list becomes much more personal. I was introduced to historical figures I had not heard of and contemporary Americans--some known to me, some not. All these stories were told with a dry wit and wry humor that stayed on message.

I have often thought that many of the best comedians were also philosophers. That they spread the world views of their philosophies with humor to help the medicine go down. Offerman is in this vein. He has a philosophy of life that he is passionate about. It includes such attributes as individualism, working hard at work worth doing, perseverance, a fierce defense of our American right to be who we want to be, and a fiercer belief that government should stay out of our private lives and decisions, but be there to help those who need it.

This is all told in an extremely amusing way that kept me listening raptly. While I won't be putting this book in my seventh grade classroom library (there is some language in there that would get me fired), I do not hesitate to recommend it to older teens and to grown folks. This is not just the usual historical subjects. It is worth noting that while I did indeed learn a lot from the book, it was at no time pedantic or boring. This is something the best teachers strive for and that Offerman delivers.

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally doesn't fit in. She feels stupid. Whenever she tries to read the letters jump around and it isn't long until the black letters on the white page give her a killer headache. She would rather draw. She's really good at drawing. But if it means not reading, or not writing, she'd rather go to the principal's office.

Then her teacher goes on maternity leave and a new teacher, Mr. Daniels, comes to teach her class. He's different. He doesn't make her feel stupid. While he is there she makes friends with Keisha and Alfred, two students who are also different. I found myself especially identifying with Alfred.

I have to admit, I nearly teared up several times while reading this book. It reminds me a bit of Patricia Polacco's Thank you, Mr. Faulker, and that is a high compliment. The emotions that Hunt is able to bring out--Ally's fears and insecurities, her despair, and her eventual confidence and happiness--are vivid and real. As a teacher I have taught students like Ally, and I wish I could have done it half as gracefully as Mr. Daniels does.

This all strikes me as very realistic. It is more than just a book I want to put in my classroom library, it is a book I want to read aloud to my students. I highly recommend this book. It is wonderful.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos

The title is the first thing that caught my attention. It reminded me of some of the off-the-wall titles of Paul Zindel's young adult novels. As I read the blurb, I knew I had to check this book out. It looked just too interesting to pass up.

I'm glad that I did read it. It was not always an easy read. James, the main character and narrator, has self-confessed mental issues. He is in an abusive home where recently his sister, Jorie, had been kicked out after being expelled from school for fighting. His best friend, Derek, is not always nice to him (and is having an affair with an engaged woman). He desperately wants to get the attention of Beth, the pretty blonde girl of his dreams.

But who is he kidding? He hugs trees (literally), yawps his barbaric yawp, and has extreme social anxiety. Plus, when he tried to impress her by saving an injured bird from getting run over, he literally gets hit by a bus. He is stunned when she starts talking to him. It appears his sister was the major contributor to the school's literary magazine. With her gone, there is a problem. Beth, the co-editor of the magazine, asks for his help.

Throughout the story we see through James's eyes the many misadventures he has as he tries to understand what led his sister to be expelled and banished from the family home. He also struggles to understand his burgeoning relationship with Beth. The ending was satisfying because it was believable in context.

I identified a lot with James. While I never hugged trees or had a giant pigeon as my imaginary therapist, I had my own bouts with social anxiety when in high school. I don't think I would recommend this for younger teens, but for older teens (and adults, too, for that matter) I would say give it a try. I liked it.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

This was different. This is a loose biographical account of Cece Bell's loss of hearing as a child. What makes it different is that the book is a graphic novel and all the characters are anthropomorphized rabbits. With rabbits being renowned for their good hearing, having the characters be rabbits accentuates how much the loss of hearing hurts.

I liked that the book was not a self-pitying type of read. The main character was believable. She had her faults as well as her strengths. She never felt sorry for herself about being deaf, but did often feel stupid for not understanding things as quickly as others. She also was more of a follower than a leader. These qualities gave her an underdog aspect that had me rooting for her throughout the book.

In her imagination she is the superhero El Deafo, using her Phonic Ear to hear all and to fight for right. These flights of imagination often have real life consequences for her. Not all of them are good.

Full of lessons on how it feels to be deaf without being preachy, I recommend this book, the first Newbery Honor book in graphic novel form that I have read. I am looking forward to getting a copy to put on the shelf of my classroom library.

Joe Steele by Harry Turtledove

I am a longtime fan of Harry Turtledove. It all started with How Few Remain, a story of what would happen if people from the present managed to import AK47's to the Confederate forces during the Civil War.  Agent of Byzantium, A Different Flesh--both short start anthologies were next. And I continued to read his works, knowing they were firmly rooted in history.

This book, Joe Steele, is another of his looks at an alternate 20th century. What if FDR had never been president? If he and his wife had died in a mysterious fire on the eve of his nomination to run as the Democratic candidate? What if the fire may have been set by agents of his rival for that nomination, one Joe Steele, the child of Georgian immigrants?

In this version of reality, the parents of Joseph Stalin emigrated to the US before he was born, making him a US citizen. Although he was raised here, his basic character is the same. He is looking for power and willing to get it in whatever way he can. While it may seem strange that growing up in California, which would have provided for much different experiences growing up, did nothing to alter his character from the one in or reality, it makes for interesting reading.

The story is told through the eyes of two brothers, Mike and Charlie Sullivan, both starting out as reporters for New York newspapers. Over the course of Steele's long presidency, their lives take wildly differing paths.

There are many parallels between a Steele-run US and FDR's. There are also many differences that are all too plausible. It seems that Turtledove, as he has often done with his work, is commenting on our own world. Showing us the fragility of our constitutional democracy is frightening. It leads to thoughts of what is going on in today's world. And it has an absolutely terrifying ending.

I would definitely recommend this book to be read. It is compelling and was hard for me to put down. I read about half of it in one sitting. This is one that would absolutely be welcome in my classroom library, even despite the sometimes rough language in the book.

Injustice: Gods Among Us, Vol. 2 by Tom Taylor

In a dark, twisted version of the DC multiverse, Joker tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane, their unborn child, and all of Metropolis. This set Superman and many of the DC heroes down a dangerous, slippery slope. In order to keep the world "safe" they have decided to take action and make the world a more peaceful place.

The alternate versions of the characters in this alternate reality are interesting to me. The bloodthirstiness of Wonder Woman. The calm, cerbralness of the Flash. The angry, scared, vengeful Superman.

And not all of the heroes are with Superman and his new world order. With the help of Lex Luthor, the only survivor of the nuking of Metropolis and Superman's friend, a plan is formed to create an army of superpowered people to enforce the new rules Superman wants. Many of the non-powered heroes, led by Batman, are opposed to this plan. This sets the two sides on a collision course that leads to unforeseen, previously unthinkable actions. Heroes I thought I knew were distorted. The very closeness of these versions to the "real" ones makes them all the more frightening.

The writing of this series is scary good. The logical extrapolations that Tyler creates make my hair stand on end. It is easy to see how one small bad decision, and sometimes even a decision that isn't so bad, can lead these heroes further and further away from the right path into a morally gray area that seems to just keep darkening.

I highly recommend this series. The writing and the artwork are outstanding. The story is, as said previously, scary good.

Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman

Sometimes I come to something a little later than everyone else. Case in point, this year (2015) I just discovered Parks and Recreation on Netflix. That led me to the good fortune of getting to enjoy Nick Offerman's portrayal of Ron Swanson, the Head of the parks department in the mythical town of Pawnee, Indiana.  That led to seeing his special, American Ham, on Netflix as well. Between that and my fiancee raving about it, I finally got to listen to Offerman narrate his book, Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living.

This book made me laugh. Out loud. A lot. It also made me think a great deal as well. While Offerman is often self-denigrating when it comes to his own intelligence, he seems to me to have the thoughtfulness of one who has spent a great deal of time in contemplation. He knows who he is, and he is comfortable with that person. He has his own strong, definite opinions, and is not shy about expressing them in a plain and blunt manner.

This book is part autobiography, part philosophical treatise. That does not mean it is dry or dull, just the opposite, in fact. It is extremely entertaining. It is also very honest. He does not try to pretty up some of the mistakes he made. He does explain what he learned from those mistakes that he incorporated into his life. I agree with many of the points he makes in this book, with many of his precepts for "living a delicious life." He has somehow managed to escape become all-consumed by his career and remains intent upon recognizing that there are more important things in life.

I would recommend this book to adults--it would never find its way into my classroom library. There is too much profanity and too many "adult" situations of one kind or another. If you like the character Ron Swanson, you will probably like the book. He makes it clear early on the he is not the character he so masterfully portrays, but the two men have a great deal in common.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

I first heard about Father Greg and his ministry while participating in the JustFaith program at my church. He works with gang members in East Los Angeles. He has done this for more than 20 years so far. He started Homeboy Industries as a way to help gang members transition to a life after gangs.

In this book, which he reads himself, he comes across as humble and loving. It is his love that has created a way out for his “homies.” They call him G or G-Dog. He calls them worthwhile human beings. More than calling them that, he treats them that way as well. And he shows their humanity in this book, breaking past stereotypes and letting the readers see it as clearly as he does.

Written after his diagnosis of leukemia, which has been in, as one of his homies put it, “in intermission” for several years now.  He wrote it to preserve the stories he has told for years. Stories that should live on even after he does.

This book has moments of pure hilarity and deep sorrow. More than once this book caused me to tear up, and I don’t easily cry over a book. He writes of successes and of disappointments. He has had many, presiding over 172 funerals of gang members at the writing of the book. But this is not a sad, morose book. Quite the opposite. Some of his stories made me laugh out loud, causing some startled looks from my daughter.

There is a strong dose of religion in this book; it was, after all, written by a Jesuit priest. But Father Greg comes to religion from a place of compassion and inclusiveness. He is the kind of Catholic I hope to be. I think that he and Pope Francis are on the same wavelength.

I strongly recommend this book. It presents a real view of how life in East Los Angeles can be. Better yet, it shows that there is always hope. Even the hardest heart can be opened to compassion, by compassion.

Pure Water: Poetry of Rumi by Coleman Barks

The first time I ever heard of Rumi was when I watched The Language of Life series by Bill Moyers. It must have been in the mid to late 90's. I fell in love with the Sufi mystic's take on life and God and love and... Well, you get the idea. I have read a couple of books of Barks's translations. They are always worth it.

There is something soothing about the voice of Coleman Barks. After spending his life translating the works of Rumi, he can read the poems like no other. In addition to Rumi's works, Barks also reads a few of his own poems. I rather enjoyed that.

If you have never heard of Rumi, or if you are a fan, this audibook is a good listen.

To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful by Shane Koyczan

I don’t talk much about it anymore, but I was bullied a lot as a kid. The biggest, baddest kid in the school didn’t like me. A small Catholic school where most of the other students had been in the same class since kindergarten and I was the new kid in sixth grade. It hurt. It still hurts.

That is the message behind this short book by Shane Koyczan. The wounds from being bullied never go away completely. They affect us “to this day.” In reading the poem I had flashbacks to what it was like for me. In reading his experiences I saw my own.
This is an amazingly poignant and heartfelt piece of spoken word poetry. It was illustrated by around thirty different artists who took turns making visual images to go with the words. This is similar to the video that was animated by many artists, but not identical.

I will find a copy or two or three of this and add them to my personal and classroom libraries. I urge you to read it as soon as you can.

Secret Origins, Volume 1 by Jeff Lemire, Pete Tomasi, Greg Pak, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Kyle Higgins

A couple of years ago DC comics rebooted its entire universe. This means it needed to update the origins of all the superheroes who made the transition to that universe. Most of these tales are ones I know. Heck a couple of them, like Superman and Batman, everyone knows. So why bother?

Well, for one thing, the way a story is told matters. The details of a story matter. And the details in these origin stories are slightly different from the older versions. Not so different as to be completely (or even substantially) changed. But the details allow the writers to set up the way they want these characters to grow and evolve in the New 52.

Some of the techniques used to tell the origin stories worked for me. The double-voiced narration of Superman’s story. The darkness mixed with hope in Batman’s story. It’s a different look at Aquaman and how his own future nemesis springs from it. Starfire’s story is definitely much darker. Batwoman’s story was completely new to me.

Of course, now that there is another multiverse shaking event coming up soon, who knows how quickly these new origins will be dated as well?

Godless by Pete Hautman

I chose to read this book because I have, more than once in my life, gone through a spiritual crisis of faith. I was a teenage Catholic boy ( a long time ago) and remember grappling with questions about my particular religion and religion in general. I was interested to see where this book would take me.

Fifteen-year-old Jason Bock finds himself stifled by traditional religion. His father is a traditional Catholic and wants Jason to be like him.  Jason doesn’t. In fact, Jason isn’t sure about the whole religion thing at all. His father forces him to attend a young person’s group at the church.

As a joke, he creates a religion, the “Chutegodians.” They worship the water tower at the center of town. He enlists his friend Shin to join. Then Magda Price, a girl he is really interested in but can never figure out how to approach, and even Henry Stagg, a violent, dangerous young man. The characters were not cardboard cutouts. They had some depth. And things never worked out quite as expected.

The joke soon takes on a life of its own. The religion that started out as a joke begins to be taken seriously, too seriously at times. This doesn’t happen to Jason, he is desperately trying to keep the lid on the situation. He discovers that although it is still just a lark to him, he has started something that he cannot control.

This was a more thoughtful book that I thought it would be at first. The ridiculousness of water towers as gods is not played for laughs. It is used as a way to explore what faith is and how ideas take on their own life. I keep circling back to that tired metaphor about not being able to put the genie back in the bottle. It was uncomfortable at times. But it made me think.

I am not totally in love with the book. Maybe because it made me so uneasy at times. I am not sure that this is for a seventh grade classroom library. Maybe high school. It is going to stay part of my personal library; even when uncomfortable the book made me ask some interesting questions.

Trigger Warning: Short Stories and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan and was happily surprised when I saw he had a new book out. I was going to put it on my wish list in Audible, when my fiancée told me not to. Then she gave me my Valentine’s Day present a little early. Not hard to guess it was the hardback of Trigger Warning.

This is a book of short stories, with a few poems added in. As he is noted for, Gaiman’s stories are all more than a bit unearthly. He has a way of subtly raising the hair on the back of my neck, all unnoticed. Unnoticed, that is, until the story’s climax.

Included in the collection are a Doctor Who story, a story about Shadow (main character of Ameican Gods—a must read), a rather different take on Sherlock Holmes, and the award winning “Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains…”

The title comes from the Internet. Often a post is prefaced by the words “trigger warning” as a way to let readers know it contains disturbing material that could trigger “flashbacks of anxiety or terror.” The power of words to sculpt and shape our emotions and our emotional responses is always amazing to me. In the hands of a master like Gaiman, that power is multiplied.

If you are a Gaiman fan, I don’t need to tell you to get the book. If you haven’t read his work yet, this is a good an introduction as any. I don’t think I’ll put it in the classroom library, I think some of what is in here is a bit too much for most seventh graders. I will definitely keep it as a proud part of my collection of Gaiman’s works.

I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

A kid who wants to be a stand up comic, reminds me of my own childhood dreams a bit. As a teen I listened to some of the classics: George Carlin, Robin Williams, Steve Martin. I like to make people laugh to this day. But the main character in the book, Jamie Grimm, has one big difference from my own youth: he’s in a wheelchair.

He lives in New Jersey with an aunt, uncle, and dangerously spiteful cousin. He works after school in another uncle’s diner, where he tells jokes to the customers. Uncle Frankie tells him about The Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic contest. Keeping it a secret, Jamie decides to go for it.

There’s more to this book than just laughs. Jamie, even though in a wheelchair, is still bullied and picked on. And there is a painful secret that eats at him. He uses the comedy and the jokes to hide the real person he is inside. Middle school kids can identify with him because he has doubts and identity issues that all middle schoolers deal with.

Ultimately this book is one I really like because it has heart. It’s a going to show up in the classroom library very soon. I am looking forward to reading the sequel—as soon as my daughter is finished with it.

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Gordan Korman is one of my favorite writers for young adults. He has a sense of humor that resonates with my own. And, the one time I met him (years ago), was a heck of a nice guy. In this book he takes on one of the most common tropes of young adult fiction: whenever there’s a story which stars a dog the dog dies at the end.

The star of this story is, luckily, not a dog. It is Wallace Wallace, an eighth grade football player with an absolute refusal to ever be anything but 100% honest--coupled with a complete and total lack of tact. As might be expected, the two do not make him a lot of friends. This is especially true when he writes a book report on his English teacher’s favorite book. Wallace doesn’t like it and he is not gentle in his criticism. This prompts his English teacher to give him detention--and keeps him on detention until he changes his report to reflect the teacher’s views of the book.

This knocks him off the football team where, through a fluke play the season before, he is considered a hero by everyone except himself and his ex-best friend.  Instead of football, he is forced to sit and watch as the English teacher directs the school play. Which, of course, is based on the book he and the teacher disagree over.  And Wallace Wallace has some ideas he just can’t help sharing…

Although I personally find it personally and professionally galling to see an English teacher portrayed this way, I have to admit it makes for a good story. As Wallace and his teacher try hard to out-stubborn each other, things get stranger and stranger. It was difficult to see how either one could back down without looking silly. The tensions between Wallace, his friends, the football team, and the drama club are realistic for a middle school. I could see much of what went on as true-to-life. The parts Korman exaggerates are done for comic effect and to heighten the dramatic tension.

This is a book I am already processing to put into the classroom library. It’s worth a quick read.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I had heard a lot about this book and how wonderful (no pun intended) it was. So, it was with a grain of salt that I downloaded the audio to listen to. After the hype, this book had a lot to live up to.

It did.

Auggie Pullman is an exceptionally bright kid. He has been homeschooled up to now because he was born with a severe facial deformity. Now, however, as he is about to enter the fifth grade, his parents want him to try going to a real school. They bring him to Beecher Prep. This is a private school where the headmaster is very welcoming and assures Auggie and his parents that he will fit in. He is introduced to three current students: Jack, Summer, and Justin. They are to show him around the school.

And so begins Auggie's great adventure. The book follows Auggie through his year at Beecher Prep with a series of first person narratives. The story is told from several viewpoints including Auggie, his sister Via, Jack, and others. With each different point of view, we see deeper inside the various characters. It is not just Auggie with his physical deformities that needs a deeper insight and understanding.

I listened to the audio version of this book and was struck by the way the narrators, Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, and Kate Rudd, were able to make each character come to life with a distinctive voice--both literally and figuratively. It made the listening experience much richer for me.

This one is definitely destined to wind up in my classroom library. I give it my highest recommendation.

Big Nate: Say Good-Bye to Dork City by Lincoln Peirce

My daughter turned me on to the Big Nate books. She loves them. I had seen some of the kids in my classes reading them, too. So I tried some of them. And I got a lot of good laughs. The Big Nate books seem to come in two types: long-form graphic novels and series of shorter comic strips. This one is the shorter comic strips.

From sadistic soccer coaches to health food Halloweens, Nate and his friends rock the sixth grade life. In the central set of strips, Nate works his way into the posse of the coolest kid in school. There he learns that getting what you want is sometimes a double-edged sword.

It is a quick, light read. It is fun and enjoyable. If you have read Big Nate before, there won’t be any bad surprises. If you haven’t read Big Nate yet, it is a good introduction. This one goes into my classroom library.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly adapted and illustrated by John Green

I have a secret. It may seem odd for an English teacher to admit: I don’t really care for most literature before the 20th century. It usually moves a little too slowly for me. If you like it, great. It isn’t my favorite. So, when I find a version of a classic that not only do I kind of like, but I think some of my students might like as well, I doubly enjoy it.

Dover Classics, the people who print very modestly priced classic literature, has a graphic novel division. I didn’t know that before I found this book. It is an abridgment of the original, but the adaptation has stayed fairly true to the original work. The language is not simplified, and I like that. There are worse things than occasionally having to look up a word or two.

Unlike the original, this is not told in a series of letters. It is more straightforward. The narrative is a bit easier to follow, but still gives the flavor of Mary Shelly’s work. It is a decent read.

The illustrations are all in black and white. At the beginning of the book there is an implied invitation for the readers to color the book for themselves. That is something I would never have thought of, a Frankenstein coloring book.

I am find myself ambivalent about this one. On one hand, the lack of color was disappointing and it was not as compelling as I had hoped it would be, nor as dark as I had expected. On the other hand, it was a quick read, it kept the flavor of the original, and it is a good introduction to the original work that could lead reluctant readers into deeper waters. I’d put it into the classroom library.

Samurai Jack Vol. 3: Quest for the Broken Blade story by Jim Zub and art by Andy Suriano

I liked the Samurai Jack TV show. It was fun, but always had a serious undertone to it that I could tune into. The main character is a tragic figure. Pulled from his own time into a twisted future by the evil magic of Aku. In this future, Aku is the supreme ruler. And only Samurai Jack wielding his magic sword stands against him.

In a failed effort to return to his own time, Jack’s sword is broken and the magic of it is gone. Aku feels this and alerts the world to be on the lookout for the “defenseless” samurai.  Then Jack is in hiding, remembering his father and the story of how the sword was forged. Jack is a broken man. The sword he was entrusted with, one of the only things able to stand up against Aku, has been broken.

As he struggles through the world, he eventually meets Muninn, who we are expected to know is one of Odin’s ravens. He leads Jack to a place of judgment. It is to be determined whether or not he is to be entrusted with this blessed blade. It is pointed out to him that he was never tested; the sword was bequeathed to him.

I think this is my favorite part of the story as it goes to what I see as the heart of martial arts. It is not just being able to fight, it is knowing when to fight (or not)—why to fight (or not).

I haven’t followed the series up to this point; volume three was my first taste of Samurai Jack in graphic novel form. It does make me curious to go back to read the first two volumes and to keep an eye out for future stories. In addition to the fine story, the artwork left a surreal feeling to all that was happening. The world warped under Aku’s influence easy to see. I gotta give this one a strong recommendation and a suggestion to read it more than once in order to see some of the subtleties.

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: War Cry Collection by Jim Butcher and Mike Powers

I am a long time fan of the Dresden Files. Jim Butcher writes a great book. And in War Cry he, along with Mike Powers, has written a great graphic novel. Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard is one of my favorite characters. He is smart, stubborn, and a congenital smartmouth. He just doesn’t know when to quit. And for what he’s up against in this graphic novel, that’s gonna come in handy.


It’s sort of an “untold story” of the war between the White Council and the Red Court of vampires. Harry, a new Warden, is taking several inexperienced new Wardens in a mission to Iowa, in the winter. The Venatori Umbrorum, a group of scholars, is under attack by the Red Council. Harry and the Wardens are not sure why, that wasn’t covered in their orders.

The vampires drastically outnumber Harry and the group he is protecting. There are several battles and the artwork on these is wonderful. It is one thing to read a description of the way spells work in the novels, seeing it in this graphic novel takes it up a notch.

What I find impressive about the story is that Butcher and Powers stack the deck against Harry and company over and over. And how every time Harry finds a way to beat the odds that I did not see coming. I value being surprised when I am reading a good story. And this one had plenty of them. Plus I loved seeing Thomas in action and I just can't get enough of Warden Ramirez. Perhaps one day there could be a spin-off story starring him? I'd read it.

If you haven’t read any of the Dresden Files, you won’t be lost. This is a good stand alone story. If, like me, you are a fan, it is a fine addition to the Dresden Files canon. I recommend giving this one a read.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Have you heard the story about Prince Charming?  Think so? Think again. In this amusing book, several fairy tales in which Prince Charming has a role are turned on their ears. It seems the bards are not all that accurate in their renditions of the stories. That can be a problem when the stories sung by bards are the only way news gets around.

There are actually four different Princes Charming. And each one is a bit different from the tales told about them. Prince Liam, who woke up "Sleeping Beauty" (Briar Rose), is a slandered hero. Prince Frederic, who danced with Cinderella, is a bit delicate. Prince Duncan, of Snow White fame, is, well, I mean isn't all there--really nice guy, though. And Prince Gustav, who was rescued by Rapunzel, needs to prove himself in the worst way possible--and is unfortunately often successful in finding that way.

When these Princes team up to save their Princesses and their kingdoms from the evil, publicity-hungry witch Zaubera there are some very funny results. Healy and Harris do a good job with the characters. They are flawed, but decent. They mean well. They try hard. They are, however, constantly tripping over their own personalities. A lot of the jokes are fairly obvious for me as an older reader, but they may be a bit less predictable to the younger readers at whom this book is aimed.

I had a hard time getting into the print version of this for some reason, but I got a chance to listen to the audio and wound up having a lot of fun. Bronson Pinchot does a wonderful job narrating the story. I had to check to see if he is the same Pichot who was Cousin Balki so long ago (yes, that dates me, I know). He is, but unlike his famous character, his voice is smooth and mellow. He doesn’t just read the story, he tells it.

I’d say give it a try. If you like it, there are several sequels.

Stormwatch, Vol. 1: The Dark Side by Paul Cornell

This was a new to me. I am no longer a collector of comics, so I am no longer aware of all the titles. Of all places, I found this in a library in Dayton, Ohio. In the DC Universe, there exists a group of “heroes” who take on the jobs that aren’t talked about. They protect the Earth from alien invasions, no matter what the cost.

This is a little darker than most DC titles. All but one of the members of this team are also mainly new to me. They have an interesting array of powers:

Jenny Quantum: powers are based on "21st century physics, whatever those turn out to be"
The Engineer: nine pints of nano-fluids instead of blood gives her various abilities to control technology
Jack Hawksmoor: can talk to and control cities
Midnighter: can predict the outcome of any situation
Apollo: solar-based powers include super strength and flight
J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter: shape shifter and telepath
Adam One: an immortal born during the Big Bang, aging backward
Emma Rice, the Projectionist: control over the mass media
Harry Tanner, the Eminence of Blades: lie to anyone and be believed

I enjoyed the science fiction-y aspects of the book. I also enjoyed that the members of the team don’t think of themselves as superheroes and actively cut the JLA out of the loop when they need to. They are not in this for glory, but to get the job done. In this volume they save the planet from invasion, lose a member of the team, gain two members, and face betrayal from within. There are some intense interpersonal relationships—this is not one big, happy family. It's more fun than deep and thoughtful. I was interested enough to want to read volume two. Maybe I’ll find that in a library one day, too.