Hayo all me bukoos in "The Land of Blog." It's the wondering Librarian with Kung Foo Gripping Action, Ninja Librarian Bill. I have been very busy but have managed to squeeze in some good reads to let you know about. So lets get to it!!!!
Blackest Night by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and others - The Dead are rising and they want all to join them (being dead that is). The Blackest Night long ago prophesied in The Great Book of OA is happening now!!!!!! Lead by The Black Hand, the dead are being brought back to life/death by Black Lantern Rings seeking them out. There is no good news in this as The newest Lantern Corps, The Black Lanterns, want everyone and everything dead. The Seven Emotional Spectrum Corps (The Green Lanterns (Will Power), The Sinestro Corps (Ability to Install Great Fear), The Red Lanterns (Great Rage), The Orange Lantern (Great Avarice), The Star Sapphires (Great Love), The Blue Lanterns (Great Hope) and The Indigo Tribe (Great Compassion)) must set aside their differences and fight together or all is lost. OA (home of The Guardians and The Green Lantern Corps) and Earth are assaulted hard by the Black Rings, bringing former Green Lanterns back to life on OA and deceased superheroes and villains on Earth. Let me introduce you to some of The Black Lantern Corps (without giving away to many surprises): The Martian Manhunter, The Elongated Man, Aquaman, Hawk (of Hawk and Dove), The Original Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Dr. Light, Maxwell Lord, Azrael, Jade, Airwave, Tomar-Re, Solomon Grundy, Psycho-Pirate, Captain Boomerang, The Original Question, Professor Zoom and many more. Our DC heroes and villains that are among the living really have their backs to the wall. This story needs to be read if you are a Green Lantern fan or just enjoy good comics/stories & art and I feel the more I say, the more I will rob the reader of this wonderful tale. Let's just say a whole lot happens, no one is safe, and when you think things are going one way they go just the opposite. This GN is really a terrific ride!!! Recommended for age 12 and up.
If that was not enough to get you interested take a look at this:
Pretty Intense eh?
Next on my list is a really cool book for guys who like mysteries and scary stuff:
The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham - In this book 12 year old Teddy and his Mom have moved to Richland, Washington where his Mom has gotten a job at the local Nuclear Plant. What they do not know is that during the past, going back to around World War II, radioactivity has contaminated the area. What does this have to do with anything? Well it is the summer when they move there and Will's Mom demands that he go out and find friends in the area. Well he does meet a couple of guys on different occasions, but has trouble finding them afterwards. Also the areas he finds them at change dramatically when he revisits them. Oh and one more thing, the house next to Teddy's is abandoned and has this giant sycamore tree in the front yard. What's so interesting about that you ask? Well Teddy could swear that the tree is trying to open the window to his bedroom and even catch him with its limbs. Is this all in his imagination or is something very strange going on in Richland, Washington? Read the book and find out. Recommended for guys around 9 and over.
Batman: Battle for The Cowl by Tony S. Daniel, Fabian Nicieza, Dustin Nguyen and others - Batman is dead (Bruce Wayne was killed by Darksied at the end of Final Crisis) and Gotham City is in a state of chaos. Without his presence criminals are fearless in their assault on Gotham's citizens. Many heroes associated with Batman show up to try to reinstate order to the city under siege (Nightwing - Dick Grayson, Robin - both Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, Catwoman, Jason Todd and others). It becomes apparent that one of those close to Bruce must takeover as the new "Batman." Jason Todd starts dressing as him, but has gone off the deep end maiming and killing those he perceives as criminals. Dick Grayson finds himself being drawn by Jason's actions into not only stopping him, but taking on the identity he never wanted. The very role he was groomed for: Batman! Great read recommended for those 12 and up.
Hi all that dwell in "Blog Land," I am back from adventuring in the outer regions where I found more excellent reads.
Before I start, I just want to share a little video about one of my best friends Yoda by Weird Al. It makes me cry every time I watch it. I love that guy!!!!!
Alright, enough of that!!!! Just silly, move along now!
Okay here are some book and GN reviews:
Superman/Batman Public Enemies by Joph Loeb and Ed McGuinness - When I was a kid comics cost 25 cents and one of the comics I bought every month was called World's Finest and it stared Batman and Superman. Well, Superman/Batman "Public Enemies" reminds of those days. In this GN, hurtling toward Earth is an asteroid that also just happens to be a remnant of Superman's home Krypton. If that where not bad enough, Lex Luther has been elected President of The United States and decides that sense he cannot stop the asteroid, he will kill Superman before it collides with Earth. Is that enough for you? Well if it's not lets throw in supervillains such as Gorilla Grood, Captain Cold, The Banshee, Metallo, Solomen Grundy, Mongul, Nightshade and superheroes (who may or may not be on Superman's or Batman's side) Green Lantern, Captain Atom, Power Girl, Starfire, Black Lighting, Major Force, Hawkman, Shazam, The Atom, etc. So basically in a very short amount of time the dynamic duo must stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth and keep themselves alive from all those heroes and villains (wait a minute, I forgot to throw in a Superman from the future and The New Gods). Great read and art so don't miss out on this one!!!!! Short general note: this one is probably best for teens.
Another great GN for all ages:
Batman Brave and The Bold: The Fearsome Fangs Strike Again by J. Torres, J. Bone and others - This is the second GN in The Brave and The Bold series that teams Batman up with different superheroes of the DC Universe. This GN collects issues 7 - 12 of the comic book series. In the first story Batman teams up with one of my favorite superhero teams The Doom Patrol. The Doom Patrol is lead by Chief Niles Caulder and consists of Robotman (human brain in a robot body), Elasti-Girl (ability to shrink or enlarge body size), Negative Man (a bizarre radioactive energy being who must be wrapped in radiation-proof plastic bandages, unless projecting his body outside itself to fly and do other amazing feats) and Beast Boy (has the ability to change in any animal he can imagine). Other stories have Batman teaming up with the likes of The Great Ten (a Chinese superhero team made up of August General in Iron - wears high tech armor and carries a trident like device that shoots electric pulses, The Perfect Physician - a sorcerer, Celestial Archer - mad archery skills, The Yeti - man able to transform in hulking beast and others who do not appear in this story) to stop one of it's own who has gone rouge; The Catman in a story where we are not sure, until the end, who is the real villain; and many other stories with Green Arrow, The Atom, Adam Strange against a wide spectrum of supervillains. This is fun stuff for all!!!!!
One last review, that is not a GN, but the third book in a really killer series (ages 9 and up):
Freefall by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams - Things are looking pretty grim for Will, Chester, Elliott and Bartleby after the ending of Deeper (the second book in the series) with Cal dead, killed by the Styx, and finding themselves blown into a hole that descends even deeper underneath the Earth (known as The Pore). If that were not bad enough, the Rebecca twins are also down in the bowls of the Earth with them and in hot pursuit with two Styx Limiters (specially trained underground soldiers). Will and the gang need to find a way out of The Pore and topsoil in order to find Will's father Dr Burrows(who unknown to him is down in The Pore also) and get the cure to The Dominion virus (a virus designed by the underground dwelling Styx to kill all humans living on the surface) into the right hands. In another interesting twist we discover that the mercenary Drake is still very much alive and doing what he can above ground to stop the Styx. If you have not read the two books that proceed this one, Tunnels and Deeper, you may have a wee bit of a time catching on to what is happening. The good news is that you have two great books to read before this one. High adventure with lots of twist and turns. Highly recommended!!!!
P.S. To see a quick overview of Tunnels and Deeper click HERE.
Blackest Night by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and others - The Dead are rising and they want all to join them (being dead that is). The Blackest Night long ago prophesied in The Great Book of OA is happening now!!!!!! Lead by The Black Hand, the dead are being brought back to life/death by Black Lantern Rings seeking them out. There is no good news in this as The newest Lantern Corps, The Black Lanterns, want everyone and everything dead. The Seven Emotional Spectrum Corps (The Green Lanterns (Will Power), The Sinestro Corps (Ability to Install Great Fear), The Red Lanterns (Great Rage), The Orange Lantern (Great Avarice), The Star Sapphires (Great Love), The Blue Lanterns (Great Hope) and The Indigo Tribe (Great Compassion)) must set aside their differences and fight together or all is lost. OA (home of The Guardians and The Green Lantern Corps) and Earth are assaulted hard by the Black Rings, bringing former Green Lanterns back to life on OA and deceased superheroes and villains on Earth. Let me introduce you to some of The Black Lantern Corps (without giving away to many surprises): The Martian Manhunter, The Elongated Man, Aquaman, Hawk (of Hawk and Dove), The Original Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Dr. Light, Maxwell Lord, Azrael, Jade, Airwave, Tomar-Re, Solomon Grundy, Psycho-Pirate, Captain Boomerang, The Original Question, Professor Zoom and many more. Our DC heroes and villains that are among the living really have their backs to the wall. This story needs to be read if you are a Green Lantern fan or just enjoy good comics/stories & art and I feel the more I say, the more I will rob the reader of this wonderful tale. Let's just say a whole lot happens, no one is safe, and when you think things are going one way they go just the opposite. This GN is really a terrific ride!!! Recommended for age 12 and up. 
