America vs. the Justice Society TPB

Have you ever read something in your younger days, thoroughly enjoyed it, thinking it was one of the best stories ever - - then, you re-read it again as an adult and think to yourself, "This isn't nearly as great as I thought it was..."

Those very thoughts occurred to me as I read the trade paperback collection of America vs. the Justice Society.  This trade collects the four-issue mini-series that was published by DC Comics back in 1985, just before the Justice Society was written out of comics via DC's big crisis that year.  I have always been a huge fan of the Justice Society, and seeing them in their very own mini-series at that time was a huge deal for me (they were already appearing in the on-going series All-Star Squadron, set in World War II, as well as showing up once in a while in Infinity, Inc. and their once-a-year team-up with the JLA in the Justice League title).  I could not get enough of the JSA.

Re-reading this four issue mini-series now, however, I discovered a number of things about the story.  First, and foremost, is the fact that the actual story of the Batman's supposed diary accusing the JSA of being Nazis is not in the forefront of the tale.  Neither is the main villain of the story, who isn't revealed fully until the end of issue three.  No, what seems to be the main focus of this story (and perhaps the real purpose behind writing and publishing the tale) is the full history of the JSA.

Don't get me wrong - I love the JSA, and for me, Roy Thomas is probably one of the greatest chroniclers of their stories.  But in re-reading this tale, I pretty much skimmed over a great deal of it, as it has the various members of the JSA - in defending themselves against the Congressional committee investigating the claims of Batman's diary - re-telling every single adventure and story the JSA has ever had - from their formation all the way through their recent fight with the stream of ruthlessness in the Infinity, Inc. title.  If you took out all of the pages re-telling their history, the story would probably be less pages than it would take to fill one standard-sized comic.

Leaving me to wonder - DC knew at this time that they would be sending the JSA off into the netherverse, supposedly to no longer be an active part of the DC Universe, so was this DC's way of giving the JSA a nice send-off, recapping their 40-year history?  Was Roy Thomas asked to write a story that could integrate a re-telling of their history as a way of honoring the first super-group?  I don't know.  What I do know is that it was definitely a thrill for me to see all of the members of the Justice Society in a big tale like this, even if it was their last hurrah.

And I suppose I should be happy this was published back in 1985.  Looking at how much story was packed into those four issues, in today's comic world, where there is a stronger emphasis on splash pages and big flashy art, and less emphasis on telling a compact story, this same tale would probably be spread out over a 12-issue series, if not longer.

The one thing this trade did make me feel was nostalgic - VERY nostalgic.  I totally miss this version of the Justice Society and Earth-2.  The Earth-2 that exists in DC comics today, and the heroes (if you can call them that) who exist on that world are a far cry from this vintage characters.  Long live the JSA!!!!!

RATING:  7 golden-age heroes out of 10 just because it's the Justice Society of America!

The Magnificent Lizzie Brown, Book 2 - The Devil's Hound

Here is a series that I thoroughly enjoy!  There seems to be an influx of children's mystery series from England that are making their way onto shelves here in America, and I, for one, couldn't be more pleased.  They are (so far) well-written and so much fun to read.

Lizzie Brown is a young girl in Victorian England who's mother died years ago and whose father was a drunk and thief.  She escapes his abuse by joining Fitzy's Traveling Circus.  In the first book, Lizzy discovers she has psychic ability, able to see into people's pasts, as well as their future, just by touching them.  She develops some friendships with other children in the circus, and with the help of Lizzy's newfound abilities, they unmask a phantom that has been terrorizing London.

This second book, The Devil's Hound, picks up shortly after the end of the first book.  The circus is headed for Kensal Green, a rural area of London, to pitch their tents.  As they pass by a large cemetery, the animals begin to react funny.  The circus performers believe there is a curse on the cemetery, and that it is haunted by a huge animal referred to as the Devil's Hound.  Lizzie scoffs, as she does not believe in ghosts and the supernatural.  However, she and her friends (who refer to themselves as "The Penny Gaff Gang") meet a young girl whose own father has recently died of small pox, they become embroiled in a rather interesting mystery involving grave robbers.  Lizzie and her friends come face to face with the Devil's Hound, and they ultimately learn that these grave robbers are searching for more than just buried treasures.

Lizzie also learns that she has other abilities beyond just seeing the past and future - in this book, she is able to catch and hear a glimpse of those who have died.  While she gives her new young friend some reassurance about her passing father's love for her, it doesn't dawn on her until later that she might be able to reach out to her own mother who died all those years ago.

While I will admit, I figured out pretty early on that something else was going on beyond the grave robbing, as well as who was behind it, the author, Vicki Lockwood, weaves the story so well, keeps the action going strong throughout, and develops the characters so thoroughly (which is an amazing feat, considering how many characters are in this circus - yet, Lockwood focuses her attention on a few in each book, while a pretty fare share may appear in the story), that I couldn't put it down until I was finished!

The books are hardbound with some beautifully painted covers by Stephanie Hans.  This one, showing Maggie staring out from behind a gravestone at the horrifying Devil's Hound in the fog, is spooky and mysterious.  I think anyone who picks up books based solely on the cover would have a hard time passing this one up!

My one annoyance (if you can call it that) about this series is that the books are not numbered, so I have to do a little detective work to figure out which book follows next.  The first two books were easy to tell (since the Phantom clearly describes itself as the first in the series).  However, while the back of this book gives a two page preview for The Ghost Ship, there are two books - The Fairy Child and The Ghost Ship - that both came out recently.  My OCD kicks in here, as I want to make sure they are read in order (and since they seem to follow a timeline, I don't want to skip one and have to go back and read it out of order).  Sadly, I wasn't able to find an author or series website that provides a listing.  Even the publisher's website was not overly helpful in that area.

However, that's a small detail, and one I can easily overlook due to the enjoyment I get from the books.  I have the third and fourth books already, and I definitely look forward to them!

RATING:  10 midnight howls out of 10 for great characterization, a great mystery, and great suspense!

the 13th Spoon - a Mystery Story for Girls

Yes, yes, I know.  "A Mystery Story for Girls."  So, what am I doing reading it?  Well, for starters, I enjoy most children's series from the first half of the 20th century - from Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins to Garry Grayson and Mary and Jerry.  Also, I enjoy the girls' mysteries generally more than the boys' "mysteries," as the boys' series are usually more about adventure and less about mystery.  Hence, my reading of "A Mystery Story for Girls."

I've only previously read one other Pemberton Ginther book, and that was The Secret Stair (also one of the mystery stories for girls, in this same series).  That book was rather lackluster, but I thought I'd give this one a try, particularly since I am a completist and feel the need to have every book in a series that I start to collect.

The underlying mystery of the 13th Spoon is actually rather intriguing.  As described on the inside flap, "The Twelve Apostle Spoons were worth a great deal of money, but the Thirteenth Spoon, the Master Spoon, was as valuable as all the other twelve.  Alan Hoyt, after years of effort, had collected the complete set.  They were the prize item of his collection, although a Wattean fan was, also, a valuable and rare item.  When Carol comes to be his secretary, Hoyt showed her the spoons and the fans.  Then strange things begin to happen...[and] waking in the night, Carol discovered Mr. Hoyt unconscious, and the spoons and fans gone."  Now, if that doesn't sound like the set up for a pretty good mystery, I don't know what does.

Unfortunately, Ginther doesn't focus solely on the mystery.  Ginther's writing is rather off-beat, in that the reader doesn't just follow the main protagonist, Carol Breck.  Instead, the story jumps around, from Carol's perspective, to her friends' perspective, to her competitor's perspective, to a suspect's perspective, and even the actual criminal's perspective!  Thus, at any given moment, while the reader may be reading the story from Carol's perspective, the next page may jump and you find yourself reading about Frederick Parsons over in Brussels...or Gilman in New York...or even Claire (Carol's rival) as she waits for her boyfriend (in a chapter aptly titled "Entirely About Claire").  For me, this took away from the smooth enjoyment of reading the tale, as it revealed too much about the various characters and removed the "mystery" from the actual mystery.

Now, that being said, I do enjoy the main character, Carol Breck.  She is fleshed out nicely and very well-rounded, possessing the perfect humility and demeanor of a proper girl of the 1930s (yes, this book was published in 1932 - just 17 years from being 100 years old), but she's also determined and mindful of things around her, picking up on clues that other miss (a somewhat tamer version of the original Nancy Drew of the '30s).  Her benefactor, Alan Hoyt, lacks depth - we know he is recovering his strength, as he is dependent on a wheelchair, but we get very little background on him.  In fact, we get more information about his neighbor, "the Major," than we do about Hoyt.

As with Nancy Drew, Carol has two friends who are uniquely different - Alice and Beatrice (a/k/a Beefy).  Sadly, they are very underused in the story, basically there as friends from college who join Carol in a venture to earn money to pay for schooling by creating jewelry and fans that other girls might buy.  It would have been interesting to see how this story might have gone if Ginther had maintained Carol's point of view throughout the entire tale and allowed Alice and Beefy to come along for the ride.

But, alas, it is what it is, and while it certainly was not one of the better reads from the collection of books I have from the 1930s, I will admit it was a step above Ginther's other book, The Secret Stair.  Of course, after these two books, it leaves me wondering if it's even worth it to seek out her third mystery story for girls, The Jade Necklace.

RATING:  4 out of 10 apostle spoons for centering a mystery around a stolen item that is unique (and, apparently, true, since a search on the internet reveals that apostle spoons do exist, having originated in the early 15th century in Europe)

Haunted - a Bishop / Special Crimes Unit Novel

Tech week and opening weekend for the play I am in ("As Is," by William Hoffman) put me a bit behind in my reading - but my love of Kay Hooper books kept me opening her latest paperback every free chance I had until I finished it!

Kay Hooper is one of those authors whose books I fell in love with from the very first one I read (along with Jim Butcher and Sue Ann Jaffarian).  Her stories center around a very elite group of FBI specialists, all of whom have psychic powers of some sort and are led by the very enigmatic Noah Bishop.  They are usually told in trilogies (this book being the third of the most recent trilogy that began with Haven and Hostage), and each book introduces new psychics into the group.  (Of course, stopping to think about it, at the rater they are going, they will eventually discovery that every person in the United States is psychic!)

The books deal with very dark evil, and this one is no different.  Haunted not only takes readers to

the small Georgia town of Sociable, but it brings back Hollis Templeton and Reese DeMarco, two of my favorite agents.  This book also introduces a unique dog by the name of Braden, who Ms. Hooper took from a real-life dog that was given a second chance when rescued from a shelter.  

As always, Hooper weaves a very intricate tale, giving us a glimpse of things through the killer's eyes and mind without ever truly revealing the identity until the end.  There are also some grizzly murders, sometimes killing characters I really don't want to see get killed (such as Toby Gilmore, who I thought would have made a very cool ongoing character for this series!).  There is plenty of suspense and build up, and Hooper knows how to keep her tales engaging.  Every book is fresh, no repeated plots or weak stories, and it's always hard to put down one of her books.  At 311 pages, it was a breeze to get through this (when I had the chance here and there to actually sit down and read!), not because the story was simple or the writing was childish, but because the characters come alive and the tale grips you so much you want to know what's going to happen, how are they going to catch the killer, and who is it!?!

At the end of this tale, it seems there won't be any new additions to the Special Crimes Unit, even though a couple of new psychics are introduced (including one with telekinesis - which definitely would give the team an edge in their cases).

Now, to sit back and wait another year until the first book in the next trilogy comes out, Fear the Dark.

RATING:  10 bleeding houses out of 10 for maintaining the suspense and mystery that I love about these books!

Hocus Pocus Hotel - Book 1

I will admit it - every time I go to the bookstore, I head into the children's section to see what series books they have.  I count the number of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews on the shelves (and usually end up re-organizing them into numerical order by series).  Then, I take a look to see if there are any new offerings to series that I enjoy, such as Lizzie Brown, Agatha, Penelope Tredwell, and others.  Finally, I comb through the new releases to see if anything jumps out and catches my eye.

A couple of months ago, I was at Barnes and Noble with my friend, Kevin, and as we were checking out the new releases, I noticed this book.  Hocus Pocus Hotel.  Yes, the title sounds a bit cheesy, but after reading the description on the back, I decided to flip through it.

"Come to the place where TRUE MAGIC lives..." the tagline reads.  "Ever since it was built by the great magician, Abracadabra (and here I thought that was a Flash villain...), the hotel Tyler Yu lives in has had its share of mysterious events.  Ghosts wandering the halls, a magician who vanishes into thin air--Ty can't figure these things out on his own.  But Charlie Hitchcock, with his photographic memory, might be just the partner the school bully needs.  Together, they'll solve magical mysteries beyond your wildest imagination."

Flipping through the pages, I was surprised to see a number of color illustrations throughout.  So, figuring I'd take a chance, I picked it up.

I just got around to reading it, and while the promise of these two characters solving mysteries "beyond my wildest imagination" was not exactly fulfilled, it was a fun read.  A short read - a VERY short read, but certainly a fun one.

While the book was 204 pages, there are 26 full page illustrations, a dozen or so half-page illustrations, and 11 blank pages (where the chapter ends on the left page, leaving the right page blank).  Plus, each of the 22 chapters begins with a red curtain illustration page on the left, meaning that out of the 204 pages, 59 of those pages are not actual typed story.  Further, the margins are exceptionally wide, the chapter titles are so large that the actual type begins 3/4 of the way down the page, and all type is double-spaced.  Ultimately, this provides for much less actual story than you would think, considering the page count.

There is no grade level given for the intended reading audience, but judging it on the style of writing and words used, I'd have to say perhaps a 3rd grade reading level (even though the book is placed on the shelves with the pre-teen books).  Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable little read, and I did like the fact that every "magical" trick used in the book is given a full, detailed explanation of how it was done.  I also enjoyed the two characters, who are as far opposites as possible, coming together and acknowledging (very nearly respecting) the fact that the other may not be quite as bad as they thought.

This first book actually hosts two mysteries - one involving a magician living at the hotel who disappears when he seemingly jumps from a 14-story window, and the other involving a "ghost" who haunts the halls of the ninth floor.  With Charlie's photographic memory and Tyler's own quick thinking, the two manage to figure out the secret behind these tricks and uncover what really happened to the famous Abracadabra.

There is a website for the book series, www.hocuspocushotel.com, that provides more information about the books, the characters, and the author.

This is a series I would certainly recommend to anyone who enjoys a quick-read mystery for fun.

RATING:  7 magical tricks out of 10 for keeping children's books good, clean, and fun.

Dark Shadows Audio Book 27 - Operation Victor

Okay, I will readily admit - I'm not the biggest fan of Quentin Collins.  His character on Dark Shadows may have been sexy, but his stories were not overly exciting, and the same has held true in the series of audio books.  When he is doing full cast audio dramas, I'm good with it.  But up till now, his solo audio books have been rather lackluster - at least, as far as I was concerned.

Until this one!

Operation Victor is set during World War II, and it finds Quentin doing his best to avoid getting involved.  The only thing is, someone has other plans.  Quentin is drugged and, against his will, is forced to join a covert mission to investigate some mysterious arcane experiments taking place in the heart of the Black Forest.  Forced to work side-by-side with the rather presumptuous and tenacious Sally Green, Quentin dives out of a plane and climbs up a mountainside to sneak into a shady castle where a Doctor Moloch is messing with the supernatural.

The title of the book should somewhat give away what is going on there (I mean, c'mon - "Victor" and a "castle" with supernatural experiments?).  Without spilling the beans, I can safely say that there are a number of surprising twists and unexpected turns throughout the 60 or so minutes of story, and the ending was very satisfying in my books.  This definitely would have fit in easily with the television stories.

I once again will say how much I enjoy listening to these stories - hearing the original actors' voices as they reprise the numerous roles they played on the show - hearing the opening theme music, as well as the closing credit music at the beginning and ending of each book - even with the voice-overs at the beginning, just like in the show.  It brings back so many great memories of the show and brings out the kid in me from when I used to get so excited with each episode that came on.

I am a HUGE fan of Big Finish Productions from breathing new life into this series!

RATING:  8 werewolf howls out of 10 for surprising me not just once, but several times throughout the story!

Star Power - TBP Vol 1 - Star Power and the 9th Wormhole

Good, old-fashioned fun reading!  Those are the best words I can think of to describe this graphic novel that I picked up at DragonCon this year.  It was the cover that caught my eye, so asked the creators behind the table what it was about.  He described it as a girl who suddenly gains the ability to wield the cosmic energy known as the Star Power in the far future and uses it to protect the Millennium Federation of planets.  That intrigued me enough to glance through the book.  The art was stylistic but good, so I decided to give it a shot.

SOOOOOOO glad I did!

This was a great comic book, set on a semi-epic scale, but with down-to-earth characters (so to speak, since the story takes place on a space station who-knows how many light-years away from Earth), enjoyably over-the-top villains, and space battles galore!  The main character, Danica Maris, reminds me a lot of Ralph Hinkley, William Katt's character in The Greatest American Hero, as she suddenly finds herself with all this power, but has no idea how to use it.  Unlike Katt's character, Danica does have a disembodied entity (who she calls "Mitch") that from time to time offers a bit of assistance and instruction.

Danica is a lab assistant on Space Station Sanctuary Six, where she is providing research assistance in the study of stars - but one particular star ends up not being a star at all, but an energy source that shoots straight through Danica's telescope and into her, transforming her into a star-powered sentinel.  The last of her kind, Danica (or "Star Power" as she comes to be known) finds that she has the power to protect her fellow scientists and lab assistants from the coming threat of alien attack.

The plot moves along nicely, without all the filler we seem to get in today's mainstream comics (or "padding" as I call it, so that the companies can pad out the story to fill a trade paperback), and the characterization and dialogue is superb!  And the art!  WOW!  The style of Garth Graham works well for this story, and he creates some very distinct alien races and unique spaceships.  We get very few splash pages, those that are there being reserved for big moments in the story - most pages have 4, 5, or even more panels, which equals out to more story content!

Michael Terracciano, the writer, handles the young Danica Maris like a pro.  She is very believable as a young girl who suddenly gains massive powers.  I particularly loved the scene in Chapter Two where Danica finds out she is capable of interstellar travel.  When her mentor and friend, Dr. Brightman, goes to comfort her for the shock, Danice surprises her by screaming and jumping for joy.  "When can I start traveling to other planets?  Other stars?  Other systems beyond the jump gate network?"  Let's face it - what normal human being wouldn't jump for joy if they found out they could do that!?

And despite the fact that this is a big space drama with tons of alien races, alien worlds, and alien spaceships with alien technology and languages, Terracciano manages to handle it all so that you don't need to be a scientist to read it.  It reads easily, and by the time I finished this first graphic novel, I felt like I really got my money's worth for what I spent.

Star Power is a web comic that can be found at http://www.starpowercomic.com/, and this first trade paperback collects the first six chapters of the story.  I spoke with the creators, and they said they currently have a kickstarter going for the second volume in the series and plan to have it by next year's DragonCon, if not sooner.

RATING:  10 out of 10 star-smashing space battles for giving a jaded comic fan what he has been clamoring for - a comic that is FUN to read!