Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica by Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko

I didn't know what to expect when I opened this comic. I mean, how much further apart could two settings be than Gotham and Riverdale? How could they ever be brought together? Well, Dini and Andreyko figured it out. When Ivy sees Hiram Lodge advertising that he is building a megamall, destroying a rare ecosystem in the process, she decides to take action. As the heat is on in Gotham, Harley agrees to go with her BFF to see what havoc they can cause. Add in Zatanna and Sabrina, mixed up spells, mixed up bodies, and the story is on. 

This was a lot of fun. The two totally different worlds are brought together in a believable way (once I could wrap my mind around Riverdale and Gotham in the same fictional universe). The more modern, realistic-looking Archie gang is used here to help sell that. The characters are who they are. The Archie gang has all the same quirks and obsessions they always have. Adding a slightly sweeter version of Ivy and Harley worked out pretty well.  There was some minimal character development and the plot moved along nicely. There were laughs and suspense. I enjoyed this book. 

I received a free electronic ARC of this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Justice League: Gods And Monsters by Bruce Timm and J.M. DeMatteis

Back in the day, Marvel had a comic titled "What if...?" and DC answered with its own version: "Elseworlds." Each title would explore alternate possibilities for characters and story lines.  Like what if Aunt May had been bitten by the radioactive spider? What if Batman had become our sector's Green Lantern? This graphic novel, a collection of three different origin tales and a combined adventure, has that sort of feel to it.

In this graphic novel DC explores a different version of "The Trinity": Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. It starts with Superman. In this version he is the son of Zod, not Jor-El, and is brought up by a family of migrant workers.  He experiences a very different upbringing than Clark Kent did. He is not so much a hero for a great deal of the story. It is disconcerting to see Superman as arrogant and uncaring as he is portrayed. Although in the context of the story, it makes sense.

Batman is also very different. Kirk Langstrom is a brilliant doctor. When it is discovered that he has terminal cancer, he creates a cure for himself. The unanticipated side effect was that he became a vampirelike creature who needed blood to survive. In order to try and assuage his guilt, he vowed only to prey on evil men. And he found this was not as easy as it seemed.

Bekka of New Genesis is this reality’s Wonder Woman. Having come to Earth through a random boom tube fleeing Darkseid, she is rescued by a kind couple. She learns that while there is real goodness here, there is also evil and she is driven to protect her new home. Often her adventures end rather badly.

The three come together to to investigate a man who is offering “upgrades” to those who can afford them. These new “Forever People” are endowed with godlike powers. But, if they do not continue to pay for upgrades, they soon die. It doesn’t take them long to decide that the Earth is theirs to rule.

There are some epic battle scenes. Many the moral conundrum is considered and puzzled over. Does might make right? Who are these “heroes” who so casually take the lives of those they see as wrong-doers? Are they any better than the Forever People? What is to stop them from declaring themselves rulers of the world?

These fears are stoked by a Lois Lane who adamantly hates these three. She is suspicious and belligerent. So different from the many iterations of this character that have come before. Only Lex Luthor seems to be himself. And doesn’t that just sound like grand news?

I liked the feel of this graphic novel. The limited nature of the series gave the authors the freedom to really push a few boundaries that they may not have been able to if this was to be an ongoing series. I especially enjoyed the character development. I deeply enjoyed seeing variations of these iconic heroes. It was a fun read and worth my time.

I recommend this. All my comic book geeks out there, give it a shot.

It's the End of the World as We Know It by Saci Lloyd

This was a whirlwind of a book! It took off fast and kept accelerating. The author's view of the wacky parallel universe was fun and not what I expected. For me, that's always a plus. The twists and turns kept me reading.

 I especially enjoyed the way the author handled the dialog. It gave me a good verbal image of each character.

 If you are looking for a lot of logic and a book that makes total sense, this may not be for you. If you're just looking for a good time, I say give it a shot.

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.

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.

JLA/Avengers by Kurt Busiek

Since I was a kid, I have always loved reading comic books. And I still remember the pure joy I felt when DC and Marvel got together and wrote a joint Superman/Spider-Man adventure. I still remember Spidey trying to punch out Supes. Since then I have kept my eye out any DC/Marvel crossovers. They are few and far between.

JLA/Avengers was a series that pitted these two iconic super teams against each other. This graphic novel contains that series. It starts off with some different DC/Marvel universes being destroyed. The destroyer turns out to be Kronos, an Oan (these are the little blue dudes who started the Green Lantern Corps) exiled due to his obsession with finding out what happened before the Big Bang. His initial inquiries were a disaster and were punished by introducing evil into the DC universes. Kronos is still looking for his answer.

In a bid to save the universes, the Grandmaster, a godlike being from the Marvel Universes, proposes a bet with Kronos. Each will get a team of superheroes and they have to find 12 objects of power. The team that collects the most wins. The losing team will have their universe destroyed.

That sets the stage for some pretty awesome battles. But what I liked even better was the way Busiek pointed out the contrasts between how super-powered beings are treated in each universe. And I totally love the ending. A time and universe bending battle.

George Perez, the artist, did an outstanding job. He captured the feel of each universe and the splash scenes for the battle were out of this world (sometimes literally).

I probably do not need to say it by now, but I give this book a very high recommendation. Definitely worth the time to read.

Injustice: Gods Among Us, Vol. 1 by Tom Taylor

I am not a videogame player. Not my thing. So I was unsure how I would like Injustice: Gods Among Us, Vol. 1. It is based on a popular videogame. I shouldn't have worried. I didn't need to be familiar with the game to be able to get into this story.

It is an alternate universe story. I really enjoy those quite a lot. The premise here is what if the world's superheroes, led by Superman, decide to take over for our own good? Broken by the cruelty of the Joker, Superman decides that he can no longer let evil and/or warfare exist while it is in his power to stop it. Wonder Woman has been waiting for him to decide this and enthusiastically joins his cause, as do most of the other super-powered heroes.

Batman, however, does not agree. He has not lost sight of the need for people to have free will and decide for themselves how they want to live, even with the inevitable disasters that entails. This sets up the basic conflict. Which vision of the world will win? And what lengths are the heroes willing to go to in order to make their visions that winning reality.

This graphic novel has strong writing. The morality of what is happening is questioned throughout the story, but not at the expense of action. The graphics themselves are sharp. They bring the story to life with often grisly detail.

I am looking forward to continuing the story in Volume 2.