Tuesday, September 29, 2015

(More) Podcast Appearances

Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of appearing as a guest on a number of podcasts. There are a few more to be recorded and released in the near future, but here are three that have been recently released.

Ryan Daly invited me on to be part of his Secret Origins podcast. On episode 17 of that show, we spoke about the issue 17 of that title, which featured an almost word-for-word retelling of the original story of one of my favorite Silver Age characters, Adam Strange.

I also talked with my long-time podcasting friend Stephanie Zimmer. A few years ago, I wrote about the end of her personal journal podcast "From Darkness to Light." I recently appeared on her television-themed podcast TV Rewind. Along with her other guest Reshanda, we spent episode 234 talking about Doctor Who, Survivor, Master Chef, Gotham, and much much more.

 I thank these podcasting buddies for their hospitality. It is always a pleasure to podcast with such excellent colleagues.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

This Week in Reading



BOOKS:
Callahan’s Con, by Spider Robinson, COMPLETED. Review here.
Sable, by Mike Grell, page 132 – 170.
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, pages 1 – 102.

COMICS:
Ex-Mutants Special Edition
Gotham by Midnight 9
Ms. Tree Quarterly 1
Project Nemesis 1
The Spectre 14

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Review of Callahan's Con



Book 37. Callahan’s Con, by Spider Robinson. Unabridged audio.

This is the last novel in the series, and was a fitting finale. As I have written before, it started as humorous short story collections, and slowly grew into a novel series involving time-travel, alien invasions, crazy characters, and lots of bad puns.

Having moved from Long Island, Jake and his crew have set up shop in Key West, and find themselves up against a pair of formidable antagonists: a third-rate mobster operating a protection racket, and an officious bureaucrat investigating the home life of Jake’s mega-genius daughter. Faced with these issues, the group decides to avoid the bureaucrat for as long as possible, and run the greatest con in the history of time travel on the mobster.

These new characters gave Robinson a chance to do what he does best, which is to put absurd characters in absurd scenarios, while also telling compelling science fiction stories. As is not unexpected for a series finale, the plot involved various characters in mortal peril. And after the team pulled together again to save each other, one was struck down by the most boring of causes: disease.

Robinson did a fine job putting a finishing touch on the series. The characters are given a final adventure worthy of their powers and personalities, and the characters’ sad farewell to one of their own becomes our sad farewell to all of them.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

This Week in Reading



BOOKS:
Callahan’s Con, by Spider Robinson, pages 74 – 244.
Sable, by Mike Grell, page 65 – 132.

COMICS:
Constantine The Hellbalzer 4
The Jam Urban Adventure 1
Punisher: The Prize OGN
Red Hot 1 & 2
Showcase ‘94 11

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Podcast Guest Appearances!

Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of appearing as a guest on a number of podcasts. There are a few more to be recorded and released in the near future, but here are three that have been recently released.

Ryan Daly invited me on to be part of his Secret Origins podcast. On episode 16 of that show, we spoke about the issue 16 of that title, which featured a pretty boring re-telling of the origin of the otherwise great character, Warlord.

I also talked with my podcasting buddy Michael Bailey on his fine "Bailey's Batman Podcast." We spoke about the excellent hardcover collection "Batman From the Thirties to the Seventies" on episode 24 of the show. This was a formative book for both of us in our comic reading history, and I had a great time chatting with him about it.

On a totally different note, I was invited on to the game-themed podcast No Consoles for Old Men. I am not a hard-core gamer, but when they decided to do an episode on casual games, I volunteered. I joined hosts Bill Robinson and Scott McGregor, and guests Sara Tonin and Christopher J Warden, to talk on episode #9 about Facebook games, and iOS games like Spider-Man Unlimited and Please Stay Calm.

I thank these podcasting buddies for their hospitality. It is always a pleasure to podcast with such fine comrades.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

This Week in Reading


BOOKS:
Callahan’s Con, by Spider Robinson, pages 1 – 74.
The First Confessor, by Terry Goodkind, COMPLETED. Review here.
Sable, by Mike Grell, page 1 – 65.

COMICS:
Doctor Who: The 11th Doctor 1 – 5
Justice Machine 1
Morbius Revisited 5
Secret Weapons 1
Starfire 4

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Review of The First Confessor

Book #36. The First Confessor, by Terry Goodkind. Unabridged audio.

Goodkind’s “Sword of Truth” is my favorite fantasy series ever. Since wrapping up that epic, he has done other stories in that world, including prequel novels, like this one. In this world, the magic of Confessors and The Seeker are among the most powerful, and this novel tells of how that magic came to be. The author once referred to the book as “the foundation of the Sword of Truth series” and “the beginning of the grand adventure.”

Magda Searus is the wife of the First Wizard, until her husband mysteriously takes his own life. In trying to unravel the mystery of why he would do such a thing, Magda finds herself powerless, and without standing. Without the magical spark of the “gift,” she ends up in the middle of a battle between powerful forces. 

Terrible magical forces have been unleashed across the midlands, including the dread Dreamwalkers.

In addition to the power and position of the Confessor, this book introduces other aspects of Goodkind’s world. We meet Alric Rahl, a powerful “maker,” who creates both theThe Sword of Truth and the protection of the Lord Rahl from the Dreamwalkers in this book.

I am a sucker for good prequel stories. They can be tough to pull off, balancing the need to tease the reader with what they already know while also telling a story with tension in its own right. Goodkind does a good job with that in this novel. It was a very satisfying read.

I listened to the audio version of the novel, and Christina Traister does a good job bringing the story to life. This is the first Goodkind novel to feature a female as the lead character, so having a female reader was a good choice. 

Saturday, September 5, 2015

This Week in Reading



BOOKS:
The Elfish Gene, by Mark Barrowcliffe, COMPLETED. Reviewed here.
The First Confessor, by Terry Goodkind, pages 327 – 429.

COMICS:
DC Bombshells 2
Doom 2099 2 – 4
Jonah Hex 78
Phantom Stranger 0 – 5
Weird Western Tales 48
X-Files Season One “Conduit”