Moving on Up

I know it's been pretty quiet around Battle Hymns lately.  That is mostly due to the fact that I was on vacation last week, and this week I started up school again, and this weekend I am moving into a new place.  The new living situation will be like moving from a hobbit hole into a house in Gondor...or something like that. I'm not exactly moving into Rivendell, but it is a definite improvement. 

Of course, with moving, my internet access will be a bit limited, but I have a few backup internet options, and don't fret, I have plenty of material on the way. 

To give you a little taste of what is on the way:  I have a book review for Moxyland coming up, a graphic novel review for the first Starman omnibus, some comic quickies, and I'm currently working my way through the 8th Malazan Book of the Fallen novel,  Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson.  So April is already shaping up to be a busy ass month for me, and for the blog. 

Chew to be TV show on Showtime

This news is a few days old, but good news delivered late is still good news right?

I got the news via the Facebooks, and it looks like Showtime has bought the script for Chew the TV show.  They've already attached a director/executive producer, Stephen Hopkins, and have plans to make tweaks on the script.  It looks like the show will be a 30 minute deal, and from the sounds of things, will stay pretty true to the source material.  There was no word as to when a pilot might be shot, or when to expect a show to air...all in good time I suppose.

So, given where things stood back in December, it looks like things have moved along quite well in the past few months.  This is pretty good news, as it looks like with the success of The Walking Dead, cable networks are starting to view indie comics as a good source of material.  Hopefully Chew will have similar success. 

Really though, what this all boils down to is yet another TV show, along with HBO's Game of Thrones, that I will be missing out on due to my lack of cable television.  My fingers are crossed that one of my friends will get cable and let me watch those shows at their house. 

Review: Essex County

You might think a group of stories set in rural Canada might be a bit dull to read through, but Essex County is anything but dull.  Told in three separate, yet interconnected, stories, Essex County delivers a powerful emotional tale that is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.

The first part titled, Tales From the Farm, the story focuses on Lester, a ten year old boy who is recently orphaned and living with his Uncle on a farm.  Lester's relationship with his Uncle is a strained one, and the boy is mostly friendless and alone.  That is, until he meets and becomes friends with Jimmy Lebuef, the owner of the local gas station.  Together Lester and Jimmy escape their otherwise mundane lives and delve into a world of forts, alien invasions, superheroes, and pond hockey. 

The second tale, titled Ghost Stories, tells the story of the lives of brothers Lou and Vince Lebeuf over the course of seven decades.  The older brother Lou, is now deaf, and living out his days on a farm, and doing his best to avoid the ministrations of his traveling nurse.  Through the course of the story we see the lives of the two hockey playing brothers through Lou's aged flashbacks.  Lou's flashbacks aren't just scenes that depict hockey glory, Lou has a lot of guilt that has built up over the years due to decisions he made that caused a major rift between him and his brother.  As Lou revisits his life you can begin to see how the stories of Essex County interconnect with one another.

The third and final story in Essex County is titled The Country Nurse and focuses on Anne Queeneville, the one person who ties in with all the other characters of Essex County in some way, shape or form.  This story also follows up on the characters of the previous two parts and tells a side tale of Sister Margaret Byrne and the orphanage that she ran.  There is also a handy little Essex County family tree near the end that illustrates the families and the links that are woven into this story.

All told, Essex County is a wonderfully crafted story really pulls on the heart strings.  Though Lemire's artwork features his unique sparse style, with bold and chunky lines, he manages to deliver a powerful emotional punch with this story.  Simply put, this is probably the saddest story I've ever read, and nearly drew tears on multiple occasions.

The characters in this graphic novel are all easy to relate to, and have lives and problems that are not unlike those of everyone else on the planet.  Sure, not everyone lives on a farm in rural Canada, but at the basic level, that of getting by in a tough world, making hard decisions, living your dream, and making mistakes are things that everyone does, whether they like it or not, and that's what makes Essex County a true gem.  The fact that it tells a real story of humanity.

Though it is up against some tough competition, Essex County is the best graphic novel I've read this year, and I fully expect it to stay at, or very near the top of that list as the year goes on.  A truly beautiful story, and one that I will be recommending to anyone who will listen.  I urge everyone to give this one a shot, as I think it is wonderful.  Just be sure to wear your hockey pads to defend against punches in the emotions!

Grade: A+

Review: The Hammer

When I picked up The Hammer, I had it in my mind that it would be my first K.J. Parker novel.  Well, a quick glance at the "By K.J. Parker" page jogged the clanky machinery inside my head.  Turns out, a few years ago, long before Battle Hymns, I read Colours in the Steel.  If my flaky memory is any indication as to how much I enjoyed that novel, I would say that it was forgettable to say that least.  So, with further scrabbling through the dark recesses of my memory I dredged up every little scrap I could recall about Colours in the Steel.  I came up with the main character's name, Bardas, I believe, something about fencing, some blurry details about how realistic the story was, not necessarily gritty per se, but real.   And lastly some very detailed, descriptions about the forging of swords...Now, please bear in mind that my memory is HIGHLY suspect, and Colours in the Steel may quite possibly be about none of those things, I merely put that little tid-bit out there to say that my memory of the past, complete with major gaps and blank spots, echoed, and played with my expectations, as I read The Hammer.

The first great thing about The Hammer is that it is a stand alone novel.  I actively seek out stand alone fantasy books these days as I have enough fantasy series started, and yet unfinished to make my head spin.  I'd been wanting to try out something by Parker for awhile now (at this point I thought Parker was a new author to me), and the cover caught my attention, as fantasy with guns is an idea that causes excitement in me.  The plot also caught my attention.   

The Hammer has a colonial setting and probably occurs during the equivalent of the Renaissance era, (history however, like remembering things, is not my strong suit).  In this novel, a group of settlers have set up a small struggling colony on an island.  The colonists share the island with two other distinct groups: the indigenous "savages" and the met'Oc, a once noble family who have been exiled to the island for their role in a long distant civil war.  The met'Oc have a strained relationship with the colonists.  The met'Oc have a large land holding high up on a bluff, but are too proud to trade or interact with the lowly commoners, so when they need something they go on raids and steal what they need from the poor farmers.  The colonists tolerate the occasional raids because they know the met'Oc posses some powerful weaponry, and assume the met'Oc would protect them should the savages, who greatly outnumber the colonists, ever decide to attack.  

For the most part, the story focuses on Gignomai, the youngest brother in the current generation of met'Oc.  Gignomai is a bit of a black sheep in the family, and is prone to sneaking off and cavorting with the colonists.  This is tolerated when Gignomai is a kid, but when he gets older it creates a schism between him and his overbearing father.  Eventually, the control his father tries to exert over Gignomai becomes too much, and Gignomai flees, setting into motion a scheme that will change the colony, and the lives of every soul on the island.

It is interesting to me that the few things I remembered about Colours in the Steel; the main character, realistic story, and in-depth knowledge of certain trades during the historical time frame, were all strong characteristics of The Hammer as well.

In the realm of characters, Parker did quite well.  Gignomai, and many of the other supporting characters are very interesting to read, and their motivations and actions are very true to the type of person they are.  The Hammer isn't a very action packed novel, and instead focuses on the characters and why they do what they do.  The nice thing is that as a reader, I actually cared for them, and fretted over their actions.   Unlike many writers, Parker did not just develop two or three characters then let the other supporting characters fade to obscurity.  Instead he/she (?) created a strong cast of characters that are all quite interesting in their own way.

The plot itself was also quite solid.  There was a nice "air of the mysterious" to it, as for much of the novel you only get little snippets as to what exactly Gignomai is up to.  The variety of character's interests and desires made the plot a total toss-up as I had no idea what the final outcome would end up being.  This made for an enjoyable read.  I should add that though the plot has a lot of ins and outs, Parker does a good job of keeping everything clear and doesn't disorient the reader with unnecessary detail.

Lastly, as I read I got a strong sense that Parker put a lot of research into The Hammer.  The colonial setting has a very authentic feel to it, and the tools, and machinery and such all feel like they fit perfectly in the setting.  Parker's descriptions of how the flint-lock pistols and rifles operate was a nice touch too.  There was a fairly good deal of pre-industrial technology at work in this novel, and Parker's knowledge of these things shined in the narrative. 

I guess I could call this my second, first K.J. Parker experience.  It was a pretty good one too.  I didn't fall head over heals for this book, but I felt it was a strong novel, with many good qualities.  I'm not instantly slavering to get my hands on everything K.J. Parker, but I have a good sense that I'll read some more from Parker in the future.  All told, The Hammer is a strong book, with very few, if any, fantasy elements, so I think it could appeal to a pretty wide range of readers.  A solid early 2011 release.

Grade: B-

Review: Ex Machina v3 Fact v. Fiction

The third installment in what has been a solid series thus far, Ex Machina: Fact v. Fiction gains some ground in the character development department, but in terms of story fails to live up to the two previous volumes.

Mitchell Hundred, once the world's first super hero, has already proven himself to be unlike the typical American citizen, but he proves himself to be even more of an oddball when he goes against all convention and participates in jury duty.  While the mayor is tied up with his civic duties, his police and security team are busy trying to catch a Great Machine copy-cat type vigilante calling himself the Automaton.   However, jury duty is proving to be a bigger event than Hundred could have anticipated.  During the deliberation portion of the trial, Hundred finds himself right smack in the middle of a tense hostage situation.  Though the hero "The Great Machine" has retired, you could use that same term to describe the workings of a big city like New York, and Hundred has to hope that all the parts of his new "Great Machine" are working together so that these unrelated crises get resolved.

There's a third story thread involved in this volume as well, but talking about it too much would spoil other aspects of the book, so I'll simply say that this bit of the graphic novel delivers some interesting character development.

Like I said earlier, I felt like the story being told in this third volume wasn't as strong as those of the previous two volumes.  Maybe it's just me, but the conflicts in this volume just didn't strike me as all that interesting or inventive compared to the others in this series.  Sure, the writing is still strong, and the characters are still compelling, but I sort of got the feeling that this story arc was a bit of a stop-gap to bigger things down the road.

On the artistic front, Tony Harris' work continues to be pretty amazing.  Harris can draw facial expression and body language better than any other comic artist I've experienced so far, and that ability lends a very realist air to the characters he draws.  I can really get a good sense for their tone of voice and inflection thanks to his skill.  Ex Machina is a very good example of the writing and art in a comic working extremely well together.

So, the weakest installment thus far, but still of a pretty high quality, and by far a better "Super Hero" book than any other out there.  There is definitely a downward trend happening here with this series, but I have high hopes that it'll pick back up.  I have the next four volumes waiting on my shelf, so I'll be getting around to them sooner than later.

Grade: C+

Review: We

In We the world is a far different place.  Everyone is controlled by the One State, in place of names, everyone has an identifying number and daily life is one of unwavering precise routine.  People's passions and instincts have been mastered through the use of drugs and scheduling, and even that great untamed beast, nature, has been driven back and partitioned beyond the walls of the city.  Though it seems like mankind has mastered it all, they haven't been to space yet. 

That's about to change, thanks to D-503, the chief architect of the Integral, the vessel that will make mankind the masters of the universe.  To document his thoughts and moments of interest in the days leading up to the launch, D-503 decides to keep a journal which he hopes will one day benefit the less advanced societies that the crew of the Integral are sure to encounter.  However, D-503's life takes an unexpected twist when he meets the lovely I-330, and starts to discover that he is more than just a number.

It is with deep regret that I have to say that I did not like We.  I've had my eye on this book for about a year, and when I finally pulled the trigger on purchasing it, I knew it wouldn't be long before I gave it a read.  I've had this book recommended to me by those near and dear to me, and I've read promising accounts of others, who's opinion I trust, liking this book as well.  Unfortunately, it was all for naught.  I simply did not enjoy this book.  I want to say up front though that I believe it to be a matter of personal taste, and not due to any flaws of the book which is decent enough.

So what did I not like about the book?  Well, the biggest thing I can put my finger on is that I was completely unable to get lost in the narrative.  Instead of reading and seeing the events of the story unfold as seen through my mind's eye, I just read the words, and cataloged the story in my brain...the type of reading comprehension that I usually experience when reading a text book.  This was a pretty big hang up since I prefer my reading to be an escape from textual reading.  If this were to happen with any other book I would have just set it aside and moved on to something else, but I felt pressure to carry on and see if I could grasp what made the book so special to others.  Yes, the story itself was pretty good, but I never once got lost it.

Aside from that major hang up, I think We might have been a very bad case of wrong book at the wrong time.  The setting of We is one drab, dull place, much like Seattle in the winter.  So, the book, and the physical location were a bit too similar to be compatible with my tastes.

So, positives?  Well, even though the story didn't speak to me, I think there are some interesting themes that will be well liked by others.  If you are a fan of dystopian novels such as 1984, and Brave New World  then this novel is in that same vein, and worth checking out.  For those of you wondering, I've read 1984 before, but I have plans to read it again soon, and review it here.

I sort of feel like We really got a bum steer, so I think I'll file this one away on the shelf and try to give it another go sometime down the road.  Hopefully my gripes with the book are unique to me, and others will find some enjoyment if they chose to read it.  If you do, let me know what you think.

Grade: D

Comic Quickies or Clash of the Titans

The Intrepids #1:  I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but The Intrepids is another awesome debut brought to us by Image Comics.  This one is sort of a spy thriller, with a healthy dose of mad science mixed in.  The team is comprised of Doyle, the strong man, Rose, a rocket pack wearing daredevil, Chester, the computers expert, and Ms. Crow, gunslinger, and team leader.

This issue kicks it into high gear early on with a mission set in Russia where we get a taste of the team's abilities as they battle it out with henchmen, and my comic reading highlight of the month: a battle with a cyber-bear!  The battle is awesome, and there's a nice little nod to Stephen King's cyber-bear, Shardik in there as well.  From there The Intrepids gives some more back story, and sets up the teams next target, the awesomely named Darius Dread, and what looks to be the main bad-guy, Doctor Koi.  From the looks of things there's some bad blood between Doctor Koi, and Dante, the team's handler and backer.  The issue ends with everything set up quite nicely for the second issue.

Overall, this was an exciting debut issue complete with solid writing and some unique and cool looking art.   I spoke to both the writer, Kurtis J. Wiebe and the artist, Scott Kowalchuk at comicon, and they're super nice dudes, and were excited to hear I'd picked up their comic.  They both warned me that though the first issue is quite awesome, the second issue is off the hook.  I can't wait.  Definitely one of my most eagerly anticipated comics.

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1: Speaking of eagerly anticipated: new Axe Cop comics, and in full color glory!

There's a new planet in the solar system, and Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier are pretty sure it's a bad guy planet.  Before they can head back to the Axe Cop station and do some tests, they get held up by the normal cops for speeding.  One faint bomb and some stolen tires later, they are at Axe Cop Station, and discover that the new planet is growing super duper fast and that it'll soon squish the earth.  It seems like a simple fly to space and explode the planet mission, but the normal cops, the army, and a couple of psychic bad guys who, have stolen a powerful machine, and can shape shift are messing up the plans.   It looks like the fate of the earth depends on Axe Cop, and his team.

This first issue was pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the brother creative team of Ethan and Malachai Nicolle.  Lots of crazy and weird things happening, and little to no idea where this thing is going, but you know it will be awesome.  Bad Guy Earth is shaping up to be yet another awesome comic.

Chew #17: This issue of Chew finds FDA agents Tony Chu and John Colby investigating a food fight that turned deadly at Tony's daughter's school.  The food fight massacre seems to be the doing of one Peter Pilaf, another character with some food related powers.  Pilaf has the ability to whip up recipes that give him the power to control people...which might somehow tie him to the space station Okroshka, which blew up recently under mysterious circumstances. 

Three really great things happen in this issue, the first, that I already mentioned, is the revelation of a new food-power.  The second is the fact that John Colby really gets to shine in this issue, and it is absolutely hilarious.  The way he goes about cracking a case is unorthodox to say the least, but incredibly effective.  The final great thing is that we get to see a bit more of Olive Chu, Tony's daughter.  She was a great surprise addition to the series and I'm looking forward to learning more about her and her backstory.

Not too surprisingly, another great issue of Chew. 

Sweet Tooth #19: This issue serves as a prelude to next story arc and the narrative focuses on the ladies of Sweet Tooth, Lucy, Wendy, and Becky.  The story starts out with the three women going for a walk in the woods near their party's campsite, and as they walk, each character talks a little bit about their past.  The really nifty thing is that each little piece of back-story is drawn by a guest artist to the series.  Nate Powell draws the Lucy vignette, Matt Kindt draws the Wendy story, and Emi Lennox draws the Becky section.  While these tales are being spun, the intervening, present day sections are drawn by Jeff Lemire, and the girls get lost in the woods, then run into even bigger problems...

It was nice to see a little bit of character development on the part of the ladies as they had only been side characters up till that point.  It'll be pretty interesting to see how their story turns out.  From the way things are set up, the next story arc looks to be quite awesome.