If you are a fan of horror films like me, than most of the info here you already know. The allure of this tome is the personal connection by the author to these films. It reads like an easygoing conversation with a friend. However, for this style to work, you have to like the author or at least find them Interesting. I did not. I prefer his previous book: GOING TO PIECES on the history of slasher films. Read that instead.

What to do when your local superhero group constantly cause accidental civilian deaths and spend their downtime raping prostitutes (and their own female teammates)?
You call in ‘The boys‘, a CIA backed group of toughs who know how to beat down powered individuals.

This is a bleak and graphic book, but the satire is very fulfilling. If you‘re a fan of PREACHER, then this is definitely for you!

‘Win-Win‘ is the ethos of the plutocrat philanthropist. The idea that society can be uplifted by a wealthy individual while making a profit as well.
Bullshit.
The obvious yet scary (to the wealthy) solution to our historic economic disparity is strengthening and properly funding government and public initiatives. However, this simple concept involves a redistribution of wealth (ie make the rich pay taxes), that the elites simply will not condone.

In the first scene, Doom sits at a table with other villains about to discuss a plot, when a newcomer annoys Doom with personal questions. Doom murders the idiot without hesitation. This is classic Doom. Dominant, calculating, inscrutable and able to murder on a whim. This book, however, unmasks him, has him don Starks‘ armor and decide to ‘do good‘. He then becomes everything ‘not Doom‘: obvious, awkward, impotent and the very worst, boring.

Despite an awkward setup (a cosmic cube in the form of a child, believing Hydra to be a great organization, rewrites Captain America‘s personal history as a sleeper agent for the terrorist group - ugh), the epic story is quite entertaining. It may turn your stomach to see Steve take over the world and fight his once allies, but the story beats are good and at the end is a satisfying conclusion.

One of the best novels of all time. For Spanish speaking folks, this is one of our most beloved works of literature, taught in schools around the world. A towering achievement in magical realism, the story of generations of the Buendía family and the founding of their town Macondo, is both tragic and beautiful. I cannot state it loudly enough, this is a masterwork.

Couched within the familiar origin story is a new chapter that tells the tale of a fan of Spidey trying to emulate his hero, but falling short and ending up as the villain. This is hugely amusing in a ‘Back to the Future part 2‘ way, in that we see new scenes take place between classic beats we already know. Very clever, fun and well done.

The few times I‘ve read Silver Surfer stories, from any writer, the tone was of philosophical waxing, the weirdness of the Universe, and epic galactic stakes. This book pairs the alien with a young, human girlfriend, amidst relationship mishaps and ‘fish out of water‘ humor. I‘ve really enjoyed this tone in countless other books I‘ve reviewed here, but I feel it doesn‘t quite work for with this particular character.

I saw the Netflix miniseries before reading this. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, this interesting group of powered adopted children, kind of a cross between the X-Men and Doom Patrol, with extra quirky accents. Recommended.

Hail to the new Stephen King.
These stories may be enveloped in the supernatural, but they are truly, at their core, about people. Yes, people doing terrible things to each other, aided or possessed by the unknown, but these stories ring so true because they are anchored by ordinary folks playing with forces beyond nature. Must read!

Amazing. Another triumph in the art of world building. These stories about people confronting the supernatural are only connected by the consistent rules, customs and geography of Hell. It is a real place and you‘ll be convinced the author has first hand knowledge of it. Gruesome, and lovingly detailed, this is a worthy successor to Clive Barker‘s Hellraiser.

I‘m a sucker for “what if...” scenarios, and this book is a high watermark in the genre. In a brilliant set up, Conan finds an amnesiac Diana, champion of a gladiator pit, defeating all challengers. The Cimmerian recognizes Diana as childhood crush from another tribe he thought long dead. They unite to combat witches bent on world conquest. Will they succeed? Will Diana regain her memories? Who is the mysterious girl from Conan‘s youth?

In an alternate universe, Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider, and becomes the hero of NY. It is usually refreshing to read a remix of a beloved property, but this one left me lukewarm. It‘s not bad, but the different personalities of otherwise familiar characters threw me off a bit. Still pretty enjoyable and worth a read for any Spider-Fan.

This is a good book!
I felt the need to rate it middling, only because I vastly prefer Grant Morrison‘s 1989 revamp (this bizarre team debuted in 1964). Strange, often meta, and constantly surprising at every page; DOOM PATROL is a great time, regardless of which incarnation you prefer.

This isn‘t a bad story, nor told poorly. This is a pretty decent book, but unfortunately, it carries the name ‘Final Crisis‘, and with it, the baggage that heritage carries. It is not as great as the previous ‘crisis‘ events in the DC Universe. It is not nearly as good as Marvel‘s ‘Infinity War‘ storyline.
It is good, though. Just not as good.

Written at the end of the Bush Jr presidency, this couldn‘t be any more timely. How did this country founded on reason and logic descend into a mass hysteria of anti-intellectualism? It wasn‘t overnight. It took years of devaluing truth and elevating fiction for the purpose of commerce. Yes, if only reality entertained as much as reality tv, we‘d be living in a much different country.

This is one of my absolute favorite Superman origin stories (the other is ‘All Star Superman‘). Beautifully illustrated, this is the classic tale, with a few twists you might not expect. Seeing Christopher Reeves likeness is an added bonus.
Highly recommended!

It‘s a testament to the talents of the writer, when reading reviews of films I have never seen I find myself completely absorbed, adding fifty year old films to the ‘must see‘ list in my mind. In rants with poetic language, Ellison proves he is much more then a master of science fiction, he is undoubtedly a top level communicator and storyteller.

With a bare minimum plot, the three most bloodthirsty characters, in their glorious ‘90‘s incarnations, spend pages and pages tearing apart multitude anonymous demons. The over the top art style of the time is an appropriate indicator for the ‘substance over style‘ philosophy in which this book is deeply rooted.

At a time when the island of Puerto Rico could use a hero, la Borinqueña emerges to restore hope. Endowed with powers granted by the spirits of the Caribbean, a young brooklynite strives to balance normal life with the responsibilities of a superhero. This first issue starts out a bit wobbly, but by the last page has more than corrected course, it has established la borinqueña as an instant icon we desperately need.

The first collection of short stories from a future master writer. Tales of youth street gangs in New York. Brief and brutally violent, told mostly through dialogue, not as compelling as his soon to come cutting edge Sci-Fi, but an interesting look at the early steps of an icon.

This should be a textbook for all humans. Required in all schools everywhere.

Despite my rating, this is a good book. Gorgeous artwork and a world so dense, events already in motion, that it took me many chapters to finally connect with the story. Serious world building here, be advised to pay close attention else you miss out on the rich detail.

We often believe that the civil rights movement was successful, and we are living in a post-racial America. Reading the words of a founder of the Black Panther party, it is stunning how they were able to defy the police, (following all laws) by arming themselves with rifles and shotguns at airports, Congress, and other public spaces. It seems impossible for any of these events could take place today.

Essential. I find it amazing the inaccurate myths we tell each coming generation about Columbus. An author of one of the most horrific genocides ever, he deserves to be studied; but as an evil actor on the stage of history, not a hero.

This is the story of a serial killer in Austin, Texas in 1884 - 1885 that was never brought to justice. The facts are laid out in a nice narrative manner, very well told. I have given this a middling grade only because this book is just beneath the quality of similar historical crime stories such as the amazing ‘Devil in the White City‘ by Erik Larson.

Amazing! From the neon drenched, mall cruising, pop song first half, where we meet these high school friends and follow them around typical ‘80‘s life, fun and endearing -through the brutal climax; this is a masterclass in managing tone. Like a rollercoaster gearing up to the first drop, you‘re enjoying the levity of their friendship and youthful indiscretions, until you realize, very slowly, you‘re at the precipice of horror and not ready for it.

Terrifying. The utterly horrific story of how a few billionaires fully consumed by the Libertarian cult have conspired, over decades, to break American democracy in the name of more profit. This is how we got here, a place of incredible disparity between the wealth of less than one percent of our population versus the rest of us. How do we change this? How do we preserve our democracy?
VOTE!!!

A horror anthology with the mysterious ice cream man presiding over the four tales. Great art, decent stories, just lacking something I can‘t quite identify. Hopefully a second volume might have better stories, I‘m sure curious to find out.

The classic pre-historic world re-imagined as trenchant social satire. Exquisite art and great writing combine in this shockingly good series. This is the new bar by which all reboots should be evaluated.

Look at that cover.
The art and creature design in this book are phenomenal.
The amount and variety of nightmarish creatures the artist created, just out of fingers, is staggering. The story and writing are ok; it‘s the art direction that really steals the show here.

This books reads like ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World‘ if you swapped black widow for the titular character. A lot of music, band issues and social drama that would work if it all weren‘t in the service of a character who has fought alongside the Justice League. Not terrible, just an awkward alliance of tone and character.

This is a compilation of essays discussing the nature of heroism and who is the superior example, Batman or Superman. Most arguments are very illuminating and present clear evidence and rationale for the writers preference. Some essays are better than others with only one misfire; a bizarre framing of DC Superheroes through the dystopian social commentary of “Fight Club”, which confuses instead of clarifies.

I‘m the target audience for Chip Kidd‘s novel about an advertising designer who find his moral center upturned after designing an ad for a very interesting client. I loved all the inside details about graphic design and the plot involving the Milgram experiment (and I love his book jacket designs!). However, the story doesn‘t stick the landing and I found the ending to be unsatisfactory.

Great book, really fun, especially the character interactions.
Classic comic set up to get the two teams fighting, until they realize there is a larger threat they must team up to defeat. So much fun seeing these characters fight each other first, then work together.

Middle of the road King. A story about obsession, fathers and sons and a portal to another dimension. Creepy, weird but with enough heart to keep you invested in the fate of these characters. Decent book, not his worst but nowhere near his best.

This is a fantastic book. Having said that, I gave it a ‘so-so‘ rating simply because this authors previous books, THE POWER OF THE DOG and THE CARTEL are mind-blowing, and this book, as great as it is, is not of the same caliber in my opinion. Still, this is a tense, gritty view of an elite police force in modern NYC.

For the love of Dios, it‘s ‘Bachata‘ music!

This is a great book to start with if you‘re unfamiliar with Squirrel Girl. Hilarious, fun and most importantly, an actual story with weight and consequences. For those who cannot believe she is capable of beating all other Marvel heroes (her take down of the HULK is equal parts smart and funny), please read this and realize there is a reason she‘s called ‘unbeatable‘!

An incredibly handy guidebook. As such, it does not go in depth on any topic, but takes you on a journey from the very first ‘games‘ up to the current state of the industry.
Fascinating, and a must have for any serious fan of video games.

Zounds! This is a slog to get through. Dense dialogue that informs nothing, convoluted plot, uninspiring designs for the gods (Roman and Greek gods are so generic looking, you can‘t tell them apart- except for Ares), plus Diana dies! And is brought back to life! Just like that other guy who did the same thing around the same time but had more publicity. Great Gaea!

Despite my rating, this is a good book. It is a pretty deep dive into what criticism is, what it‘s uses are and why we engage in it. It is both art itself and communication. It is both instinctual and academic. It is a part of how we share our experiences of the world.

A very interesting group of stories from Clark‘s upbringing focusing on some pivotal moments in the forging of whom was to become the ‘Man of Steel‘.

Great book for all ages. Fun tone, real stakes, interesting characters all anchored by the amazingly sweet relationship between a young, brilliant girl and a giant red Dinosaur. I love finding good reads for kids that aren‘t dumb or toothless!

Fantastic end to King‘s ‘real crime‘ trilogy that began with MR MERCEDES, through FINDERS KEEPERS. Great characters, high tension and a plot that never slows down, this is top notch storytelling. My only complaint is this book, unlike the two predecessors, relies on the supernatural. But unlike many King novels, the ending is emotional yet earned. Highly recommended!

ST will never be as good as Alan Moore‘s iconic run. Case in point, ST‘s co-creator delivers the absolute worst iteration I‘ve ever read. The book relies on previous decades of better storytelling for us to understand who the characters are, as they are presented as flat cut-outs who all speak similarly. Also, the art is atrocious. ST is drawn like HULk, a green steroid bodybuilder, when he is actually a shifting bundle of roots and vines!

I finished reading this days after the Las Vegas shooting.
I wonder what motivations might be uncovered as the investigation continues.
In this book we observe the life of the perpetrator and some of his victims. We understand his mindset and reasoning for what he did. But I still feel we really know nothing of the evil that lurks in the hearts of others. Until we can understand this better, I'm afraid this will be a repeating nightmare.

D.C. merges all previous iterations of their past Universe with interesting results that either work, or don't. Flashpoint is the center of the crisis, as the heroes feel echoes of forgotten realities and try to figure out what is going on. I love Batman and Diana's redesigns, but the story feels confusing and characters are somewhat (understandably) confused.

This quote jumped out at me. When these days we have Holocaust deniers, it really is important for the truth to come out.

So far I'm enjoying this book very much (despite its incredibly depressing topic), but this line just made me stop cold. I had to read it over a few times to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding.