Category Archives: Books
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5 Superman Projects To Check Out
75 years ago this week, Action Comics #1 hit the newsstands, introducing America and the world to Superman. Since that day, the Man of Steel has become one of the most recognizable comic character in the world, if not the most. And with the latest Superman movie set to premiere this summer, it seemed only fitting for me to look back at some of the great Superman projects over the years.
Think of it as a primer.
- The Adventures of Superman – A classic of television shows. I remember watching these in syndication as a child, never knowing the dark history that surrounded George Reeves. The series did not go in for the major villains, but it was still fun watching the Man of Steel break up criminal rings throughout Metropolis. The series is available on DVD.
- Superman cartoons – Heading way back to the era of the matinees, Max Fleischer created a number of Superman shorts that ran in theaters. Unlike the television show, Superman’s foes were more in line with the comics, facing mad scientists and robot monsters. These shorts are available on DVD and Youtube.com
- Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero by Larry Tye – This book covers the history of the Man of Steel, from his humble origins in the minds of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to the legal turmoil that has plagued Superman in recent years. Tye’s book covers everything about the Man of Steel, including the radio shows, the Fleischer cartoons, the television show, and even the movies. Tye does not pull punches in this book as he reveals the behind the scenes drama that has accompanied the Last Son of Krypton over the years.
- Superman: The Movie – Directed by Richard Donner and starring a stellar cast, this was the epic tour de force for the Man of Steel, covering his origins right up to his clash with Lex Luthor.
- The Man of Steel – In 1986, DC Comics had just created a major restructuring of their comics universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths. In its wake, DC started to relaunch their flagship characters, updating them for the modern times. Written by John Byrne, The Man of Steel retold Superman’s origin for the 1980s, but did so much more. Gone were much of what had been created in the Silver Age of comics, making Superman truly the Last Son of Krypton. Even Superman’s long standing cast of supporting characters were revamped, from a modernizing of Lois Lane, to the transformation of Lex Luthor from criminal mastermind to unscrupulous (and untouchable) businessman. Much of what Byrne created in this series stood until later writers began to return many of the classic elements of Superman. But, this mini-series still remains a great read.
Related articles
- Cleveland Declares ‘Superman Day’ To Celebrate The Man Of Steel’s 75th Anniversary (comicsalliance.com)
- Happy birthday, Superman! A look back at 75 powerful years (herocomplex.latimes.com)
- Cleveland mayor declares April 18 ‘Superman Day’ (robot6.comicbookresources.com)
- Superman At 75: Dan Jurgens Reflects On The Man of Steel (comicbookresources.com)
- Superman Turns 75! His Top 5 Screen Appearances (nerdist.com)
- It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a super-septuagenarian! (today.com)
- Happy 75th Birthday Superman And Lois Lane! (splashpage.mtv.com)
- Superman Turns 75! Here’s 7 Things You Didn’t Know About The Man Of Steel (radaronline.com)
Book Review – Badass: Ultimate Deathmatch
Badass: Ultimate Deathmatch: Skull-Crushing True Stories of the Most Hardcore Duels, Showdowns, Fistfights, Last Stands, Suicide Charges, and Military Engagements of All Time by Ben Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For those of you who have read and liked the previous Badass books, you will not be disappointed with this one.
Thompson brings the same testosterone fuel he had from his two previous books to this one, now focusing on some of the great battles in history. Thompson does not limit himself to the big epic wars either, but looks to some of the smaller scale fights as well. Along side wars like the 100 Year War and the Punic Wars are specific battles like Gettysburg and Rorke’s Drift.
I cannot verify the historical accuracy of the events as Thompson tells them. But, I am intrigued enough by what I read to seek further information about the events he relates, if only to seek clarification. But, Thompson’s unique style definitely pulls you into the story and does not let go.
Astounding
English: Stack of books in Gould’s Book Arcade, Newtown, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I find it astounding that there are some books that I cannot read, though I will watch TV series and movies based off them. Case in point, I have attempted to read A Game of Thrones twice. The furthest I have gotten is someplace shy of page 100. Yet, I have devoured HBO series, working through Season One and with only four more episodes left in Season Two.
Is there any book that you have not been able to read, though you can watch the story presented in other media?
Book Review – How To Blog A Book
How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time by Nina Amir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book had me a little torn as to whether to give it three stars or four. The book is very well written, and provides a lot of information for people who are thinking about trying to blog a book. But, it felt like a lot of the information was more for a non-fiction type book rather than the fictional narratives that I usually write. In the end, I was left wondering if much of the information the author provided could be used in blogging a more conventional writing project on the web.
Book Review – Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I used to work in a comic shop. During my tenure there, I had a lot of strange requests. This book made me remember just about all of them.
A funny collection of observations from the author and from other booksellers, this book made me realize that even the most literate of people can be a complete idiot at times.
Book Review: Scared Sh*tless
Scared Sh*tless: 1,003 Facts That Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You by Cary McNeal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Let’s dispel a few things off the bat. None of the facts in this book will actually do what the title claims. That said, this book is a gruesome collection of interesting tidbits. While there are some facts that I had not seen before, I have seen most of them in other books.
It seems that the author learned something from the first book. Snide comments do not follow each factoid. However, unlike the first book, there is no real distinction between the facts and the author’s comments, which takes away from the book.
Book Review – Trucker Ghost Stories
Trucker Ghost Stories: And Other True Tales of Haunted Highways, Weird Encounters, and Legends of the Road by Annie Wilder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As with most anthologies, there are some good stories and some not so good stories, and you just have to take the good with the bad.
All the stories within are written by the witnesses of these strange events, which adds to the variable nature the writing within. It is tough to take any of these stories as evidence of the supernatural since each is, as mentioned, is written by a single author, the “eyewitness” of the event described. As such, without any outside verification, it is tough to accept any of these stories as “true” since we know so little about each author.
Still, taken as a collection of tales from the road (whether true or not), there are enough good stories in the book to suggest that anyone curious should pick it up.
Book Review: Mudslingers: The Twenty-Five Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time
Mudslingers: The Twenty-Five Dirtiest Political Campaigns of All Time by Kerwin Swint
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this election year, I live in a state where two candidates are attacking each other based how each handled their finances. At times, the political ads look pretty nasty.
Reading this book, I realize that this race is no where near as brutal as the races Swint covers.
Mudslingers looks at the dirty side of American politics. The personal attacks, the political ads, the underhanded deals, just about everything you could think of (but really should not) happens in this book. Swint covers all sorts of political races, from presidential right down to mayoral. And writing this as a list allows Swint to build to an ultimate climax of campaign brutality.
This book is not for everyone, but I do recommend this read for anyone who looks at today’s political attack ads and wonders if they could get any worse. Mudslingers proves it can get a lot worse.
Book Review – The Best of Ghosts Caught on Film
Best of Ghosts & Paranormal Caught on Film by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Books like this are interesting not so much for what’s written. Most of the entries are simply a summary of the facts of the pictures they accompany, along with some possible explanations. The true stars of this book are the pictures themselves. Whether or not you belief in the paranormal, these pictures are presented as the evidence. The reader is then left to draw their own conclusions about the pictures, whether they be too vague to rule one way or the other, too obvious to be real evidence of the paranormal, or whether they just make the reader say, “What the hell IS that?”
Books That Make You Think (And Not Always In A Good Way)
Fiction Stacks (Photo credit: chelmsfordpubliclibrary)
Some of the best books are the ones that make you think. These books can be so stimulating, you begin to think, “What would I do in that situation?” Or, you wonder if what you read could ever happen. This tends to be the case of a lot of good science fiction. It can even be as simple as how you would direct the film version and who you would cast.
But then, there are those books who make you think, though not in the way the author had intended.
WARNING: LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD
