Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge

In 2006, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge hit the shelves in libraries and stores. No, it's not about William Shakespeare. Instead, it tells the story of 14-year old Kevin Boland, a talented first baseman sidelined by mono. While sitting out a good part of the season, Kevin starts writing poetry - about baseball, about girls, about his dead mom. The whole story is told in poems - some free verse and some in forms, ranging from haiku to a sonnet to a pantoum and more, some using rhyme, some not.

This spring brings the release of Shakespeare Makes The Playoffs, which picks up a bit later in baseball season. Kevin and Mira are still going out, although Kevin is starting to question that relationship a bit - Mira doesn't "get" him or his poetry, whereas a new girl he's met (named Amy) sure does. Not only that, she writes poems with and for Kevin. What's a guy to do?

Welcome to the End of the World

When I first heard that Marvel was adapting Stephen King's epic The Stand into graphic novel format, I got pretty excited. The Stand is one of my favorite books of all time, one that I re-read every few years, one with scenes and characters that are unforgettable to many. I wasn't disappointed in the first 2 collected gn volumes, Captain Trips and American Nightmares, and I'm looking forward to the continuation of this familiar story being told in a new way. So yes, I'm writing this as someone who knows the original material well--and I would love to hear an opinion on this adaptation from someone who hasn't read King's novel.

Volume 1, collecting issues 1-5, sets up the battle between good and evil to come, introducing us to the characters on each side, and of course we have to start with how we got to this specific apocalypse in the first place. Besides meeting the survivors of the superflu (aka Captain Trips), we get a bit of backstory involving Project Blue, a governemnt biolgogical weapons project that got out of control. Only 1 man escaped the compound before it was locked down, but 1 man was enough to spread the epidemic throughout the country, maybe the world.

Jack: Secret Circles -- F. Paul Wilson Young Repairman Jack, #2

Little Cody Bockman disappeared on a rainy morning.

So begins the second installment in F. Paul Wilson's series about the teen years of his most famous creation, Repairman Jack.

While it certainly isn't necessary to be familiar with the adult version of Jack to enjoy these books, I have to admit that that's their main appeal for me.  Yes, there's secret societies and worldwide conspiracies and monsters and unsolved murders and hidden tunnels, but, for me, the real puzzle will probably always be Jack.  Any glimpse, however brief, at What Makes Him Tick... well, that'll always be something I want to see.

I should back up.  To the future.  Jack, as an adult, is known as Repairman Jack.  He's got no last name and no social security number.  To most people -- and the government -- he's untraceable.  Unknowable.  Unfindable.  And for a fee, if he chooses to take the job, he'll solve your problem, whatever it is.  Cool, right?  Yeah.  While I've never found Wilson's writing to be particularly stellar, Jack keeps me coming back.

What would it be like if you were a witness?

From Holly Cupala, an interview with Swati Avasthi, author of Split. Here's a bit on the book:

16-year-old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist) and a secret. He tries to move on -- new friends, new school, new job -- but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind: his mother, who is still trapped with his dad. Split is about what happens after. After you have gotten out, how do you begin to live again?

The Less Dead by April Lurie

The Less Dead by April Lurie
"Noah Nordstrom has been dissing the religious beliefs of his father, who hosts a popular Christian radio show and whom Noah accuses of spreading hate. When two local gay teens are murdered, Noah’s anti-evangelism intensifies—he’s convinced that the killer is a caller on his dad’s program.

Then Noah meets Will Reed, a cool guy. But when he learns that Will is gay, Noah gets a little weirded out. Especially since Will seems really into him. Noah gives Will the brush-off. Meanwhile, the killer is still at large . . . and soon Noah finds the next victim. It’s Will.

Racked with guilt, Noah decides to investigate. He knows the serial killer is targeting gay teens, but only those who live in foster homes, whose deaths are not that important to society; they are the less-dead. Noah, however, is determined to prove that someone cares. With the help of Will’s journal, which he pocketed at the scene of the crime and in which the killer has written clues, Noah closes in on an opponent more dangerous than he can guess."- summary from Amazon

This was a really interesting book; it combines mystery, suspense, and religious debate. The book does get quite a bit preachy, but I agreed with the pro-gay stance that many of the characters in the book had, so it didn't bother me as much. I was surprised I was able to read it as quickly as I did because I figured I might get so upset and PO'd at the anti-gay stance a couple characters had that I'd have to put the book away and calm down. I enjoyed Lurie's writing though at some times it felt a bit odd and stilted, and not at all realistic, mainly with the dialogue.

The mystery aspect of it was intriguing, and kept me guessing the whole time. I was shocked at the outcome because even though I had narrowed down the suspects to two, both of them were still odd choices and I wondered about the "why" of it all, which, by the way, is a whole other story. Right before the climax, I was seriously thinking like I was watching a horror movie- "No! Don't go in there, moron! Why are you going there by yourself?!?!" It was frustrating, but a bit funny, and also obviously necessary.

So overall, I really loved this book. It had some flaws, but the good parts outweigh the bad by a lot. Definitely a book to read if you're into mystery and religious stuff. There's an Author's Note in the back which talks about the Bible passages that supposedly mention homosexuality and Lurie debunks them all as well as talks about her own experiences growing up in a strict religious household just like my main character.

Why the Justice League Never Works

Take a good, close look at the first image above. It tells you all you need to know about why current incarnations of the Justice League of America just haven't worked out. This is the kind of JLA issue I regularly saw when I was a kid - circa 1979 or so. Notice the heroes who made up the league back then? Sure, there are some B-Listers and C-Listers up there, but the big five are fully represented - Flash, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman (Aquaman didn't even get any love in the 70s. Can the man EVER catch a break?). Without all of these five - ALL OF THEM - there really isn't a reason for the League.


Every time some writer tries to experiment with the tried-and-true formula of the classic JLA, it ends in dismal failure. Case in point - the grotesque aberration that was the Detroit-based JLA.

Justice League Detroit? A terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE idea! Note that NONE of the big five were present. No wonder this was a doomed effort from the get-go.

I have fond memories of the Giffen-Dematteis-Maguire JLA years, but their efforts were also in vain as they did not follow the cardinal rule of five. Even Batman, who was a league stalwart at the beginning of this run, was later ditched in favor of - I can't believe I'm saying this - the likes of G'nort. And let's not even begin discussing Justice League Europe. What hope does a team have when its anchors are Captain Atom and Metamorpho?

The only hope for the JLA in recent years was Grant Morrison's run on the series. Again, like many others before him, Morrison started off strong by focusing on the core power players. But even Morrison gave into temptation and began adding and deleting characters from the roster ad nauseum. Credit where credit is due - Morrison's stories were still damned good, mostly because he viewed and presented the League as a pantheon of god-like characters, so even his additions of characters like Azrael, Orion and Big Barda made sense within the confines of that conceit.
I highly recommend the recently-collected deluxe editions of Morrison's tenure on the JLA. They are not as narratively complex or challenging as, say, his more recent work on Batman or Final Crisis, but they capture the essence of the team far better than anything in recent memory.

The recent return of the Justice League of America, courtesy of writer/novelist Brad Meltzer, has just been a damned mess. It started off with an interesting premise - Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman discussing who should be added to the team - but the recruitment ended once again with a League featuring a select few of the Big 5 and mostly lesser-known characters. While I dig Speedy (now known as Red Arrow), he's just not JLA material, you know?
Once Meltzer departed, the League was once again on editorially shaky ground, with writers and artists hamstrung by what DC said could and could not be done with the characters. Perhaps the current creative team of James Robinson and Mark Bagley can do something to bring back the magic of the JLA, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Is there any hope for the League? Can anyone write for the Big 5, or is it simply too creatively (and/or editorially) challenging? Is there any way to revive the current incarnation of the League? If so, how?
Cross-posted at PastePotPete

R.I.P. a Southern Rex: Barry Hannah Died

Barry Hannah, one of the great literary talents of the South, died yesterday. His death, while not necessarily a surprise (he was 67, but he'd lived a hard 67 years), still hits me like a freight train.

Darkness on the Edge of Fabletown: Peter and Max

I just finished Peter and Max by Bill Willingham, an extremely well-written tale set in Vertigo Comics' "Fables" universe where fairy-tale characters exist in a sort of vast commune called "Fabletown." Moving, intense and gripping, filled with action and suspense, teen boys will probably love it. But I'm going to go a bit afield and explain why I didn't like it.

You see, it's symptomatic of something that, as a reader, a writer and a parent, both annoys and worries me. It's dark: the kind of trendy Dark Knight-dark that everyone wants now. And truthfully, as a reader, a writer and a parent, I'm worried about, and wearied by, this trend. I mean, if everything is dark, then what is there to see?

Because you're never too old for a pop-up book . . .

Today, I'm recommending Encyclopedia Mythologica: Gods & Heroes by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, the talented creators of beloved pop-up books including versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy.

Sometimes Even Sherlock Holmes Has to Look Something Up

Let's talk handbooks.

I loved them as a boy, handbooks of all kinds covering everything from model railroading to rocketry; they were books that you could make happen in the real world. It was only later that I realized that almost any book can be a handbook. What's The Great Gatsby, after all, but a handbook on how to woo a woman by being a cool and mysterious millionaire?

The one I carried most was the Boy Scout Handbook. Need to hitch up a horse or a boat? It has you covered. Want to bake a potato in aluminum foil beneath a bed of coals? It'll tell you how. Trying to follow a deer? Bingo, it's here. Hiking, camping, lifesaving, even the rudiments of morality: this book has plenty to offer the enterprising and adventuresome lad.

But can it tell you how to make a dramatic entrance? How to analyze footprints, fingerprints, typography, or bullets? What if you need to fake your own death by surviving a plunge into a waterfall? I don't remember that from my Scout handbook, and I could have used it more than once, let me tell you.

These are all necessary skills for the really enterprising and adventuresome lad. Even cavemen knew how to hike and camp, but only The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs can teach you to find a secret chamber or examine a crime scene with flair and panache.