#fandomfridaybooks

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

This omnibus actually contains three sets of comic issues (they call it classic, but, there were some older Xena comics too, but, I don’t think that they were put out by Dynamite and are very very hard to find these days). It has Contest of Pantheons, Dark Xena, and Strange Visitor.

Contest of Pantheons has Egyptian and Greek gods each picking a champion, and the Greek champion is quite surprising (but, not to worry, Xena is still involved in save the people of the world from all the fighting between the gods). In Dark Xena, we go back in time to before Contest of Pantheons and we see Gabrielle try and bring Xena back to life, and instead, Dark Xena is recreated. Finally, Strange Visitors is what it sounds like, aliens. I never thought that my favorite of the three would be Xena and aliens, but, it was a really fun story for sure. They all were, but, who can pass up Xena and aliens!

Xena: Warrior Princess Omnibus, Vol. 1: Classic Years by John Layman

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

There is a man who has gone missing near Themyscira (although he and his wife who were diving didn’t know that). But, while one would think that he’d have wound up on Themyscira, he didn’t. He wound up on a sort of male island version of Themyscira. And, him landing there changes everything. Stuff gets bloody, and very Greek Olympian God-dy (Ares especially has a big role in this book).

We also finally (in this series) get to see a bunch of Oracle aka Barbara Gordon. In this universe she did get attacked by the Joker (that was sort of glossed over in the book with a throwaway line) and she is Oracle, not Batgirl. But, either way, there was more with her than all the other books in the Justice League Prose series combined, and it was good stuff too. Ooh, and, the original character of Ana, she was really cool too. This was an all around awesome read.

Wonder Woman: Mythos by Carol Lay

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

This is my new favorite of this sorta series of books. It stars all of the Justice League as they go up against a bunch of new metahumans. But, is that more than just a new few people with super powers (either choosing to be good or bad)? And, since they’re the JLA, of course they come up with a solution, but, will the solution they come up with be worse than the problem also.

So, it stars the ‘current’ JLA from these books, Kyle as Green Lantern, Wally West as the Flash, but, the cooler thing was that we got scenes from ten years before also, and so, we get the 'old' JLA members like Hal and Barry and Black Canary too. There's even a bunch of Aquaman in the present and the past, and.... we get this humongous world spanning and hero spanning ending too. From Nightwing to the JSA to Green Arrow and even guys like Captain Atom.

It was also a book that wasn't just about boom boom hitting and saving the world, the author definitely had me thinking a bit by the end of the book. There was quite a lot of philosophy throughout the book. Mostly revolving around death and life as well as taking lives. It was a full on amazing book honestly.

JLA: Exterminators by Christopher Golden

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

The weather is going nutty all over the US (and, yes, I was reading this during the blizzard in the Northeast… doh!). Superman and the Justice League are on the case though. They have to solve this mystery (and, it isn’t just Batman who did the solving either, woo!). And stop whoever is messing with the weather before they go too far and permanently injure the Earth.

It was an interesting sort of book because while Superman was the main character of this book, it seemed like unlike in the other books in this Justice League prose novels series, he wasn't as much of a focal point. Still, I loved the Lois & Clark/Superman stuff in this (I won't spoil it). And then there was the Lois/Cat stuff. I need a book about them in this universe (I know, these are old books, but, still heh). It was a really fun book that was centered on a villain I haven't read about in a while.

Superman: The Never Ending Battle by Roger Stern

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

I used the first book in this awesome series as a GIF wayy back in 2020. This will be a blurb with words about the second book in the series (as well as the series in general).

In this one a young troll claims that they can return the memories of Anna and Elsa from when they were younger. The ones that Pabbie took away after the accident shown in the Frozen movie. Elsa’s not totally sure that that’s what they should do yet. And so we get to see what they (and Olaf, Sven, and Kristoff) figure out to do.

I really like all the books in this series. They’re the chapter books with pictures (there are a bunch of books like this one but published by Marvel and DC, comic chapter books), and, they are a really fun balance of a good story and an easily readable story. Wicked fun reads.

Memory and Magic by Erica David

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

I did not expect that from a Batman story. It was intense, and, like the Green Lantern one, although it did have the Justice League in parts of it, it was definitely mostly about Batman (with a bit of the Martian Manhunter in there which was cool).

There are scientists working at an ancient pyramid that is revealed in Gotham when a dam breaks (I had many questions about the pyramid and such, but I decided to go with it). Then, something happens, and the JLA suddenly disappears. Everyone but Batman (and Martian Manhunter who is off world). And so, Batman is on the case. What’s going on, is it something ancient or something modern, and can Batman not just save Gotham, but the entire world?

It was a dark, dark read, but, a really fun one too. And, there are more in this really cool sorta series (although I do believe I’m reading them totally out of order if there is an order, so, they can be read as stand alone as long as you know who the Justice League is in a general sense).

You may like this book If you Liked: Batman: Resurrection by John Jackson Miller, The Flash: Climate Changeling by Richard A. Knaak, or Monsters Unleashed by Cullen Bunn

Batman: The Stone King by Alan Grant

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

A note about Green Lanterns. Kyle Rayner isn’t my favorite of them, actually, he’s not in my top three either. But, this book was about him, and it was by the amazing Dennis O’Neil, and so, I wanted to give it a try (it’s also part of a series that I’m reading that I like a lot and will probably be recommending books from in the future). And, I’m glad that I gave it a try, because, although Kyle Rayner is one of the most artistic of the Green Lanterns, this book was surprisingly very DC Comics scientific.

Kyle doesn’t really want to be a hero, but he gets caught up in all sorts of drama as the Justice League Watchtower in space disappears, and there are a ton of time shenanigans and space shenanigans.

It, at times, was definitely a mind bending book, but, even as it was melting my brain, it was still such a fun brain melting to sit through.

Green Lantern: Hero' Quest by Dennis O'Neil

[nevinslibrary]

Fandom Friday

I know, I know, this is the second volume, not the first. And, the first is fun, but, this one, and as the title suggests, this TPB collection introduces (formally and not just an off hand mention) the great Detective of DC Comics himself, Batman, as well as his sidekick (in this case), Nightwing, into the Smallville Comics Universe. It’s awesome.

It’s a pretty usual sort of DC Comics story. Batman and Nightwing come to Metropolis following the trail of Intergang. Meanwhile Clark is still trying to deal with the fact that Lex dosed him with something that makes him very easy to track in the first volume. Then, finally Batman and Superman meet and it's not really a great first meeting, but, that seems to always be how they meet these days, they always seem to start off at odds and then have to grow to an understanding of each other.

I really liked what they did with the Nightwing character especially in this universe and although it probably won't happen, it would awesomely great to see even more of her. They made her a little bit like the original Dick Grayson Nightwing, but also put a bit of Oracle in there too (Escrima sticks, etc.) which was really fun.

You may like this book If you Liked: Future State: Gotham by Joshua Williamson, Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping Into the Light by Tom Taylor, or Spider-Man: City at War by Dennis Hopeless

Smallville Season 11, Volume 2: Detective by Bryan Q. Miller