The reading list: Powers

Powers is an American creator-owned comic book series by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming. It has been ongoing since 2000. It combines the genres of superhero fantasy, crime noir and the police procedural as the series follows the lives of two homicide detectives assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, who are referred to colloquially as "powers".

It's extremely well-written, gritty, and weaves complex storylines and backgrounds together to create a gripping universe and compelling tale all while looking absolutely gorgeous. It's also pretty shocking at times, because, well, the lead characters are homicide detectives after all. Currently people are working on turning it into a TV series, and I hope that works out.

Rating: *****
Comment: Dark, engaging, with stunning visual art and lots of homages and cameos.

The Reading List: Irredeemable & Incorruptible

I can't believe I still have this awkwardness in describing these things. Look, I think "comic book" sounds vaguely like I'm describing an issue of Donald Duck magazine or like I'm 12, and "graphic novel" sounds incredibly pompous.There's just no way to win this one.

Anyway, I've just went through Mark Waid's entire 37-issue run of Irredeemable and it was a pretty wild ride. The basic premise, I guess, is "what if a super-powered individual, a superhero if you will, snaps". Apparently much of earth gets decimated. I really wouldn't recommend it for 12-year old readers of Donald Duck magazine. But it's a pretty gripping story. The series "Incorruptible" is kind of a mirror image version of the tale, where a super-villain, reacting to the destruction wreaked in Irredeemable, finds himself turning into a hero. There's this neat kind of symmetry to the whole thing.

Highly recommended read.

Rating: *****
Comment: Loses steam in the middle for a bit before picking up again but what a ride

The Reading List: REAMDE, The Boys, and Sweet Tooth

So on my trusty Sony ebook reader I've been working my way through Neal Stephenson's latest novel REAMDE, which is World of Warcraft meets Chinese hackers meets Russian mafia meets Islamic terrorists set in China and the American/Canadian outback.  Or something like that. Despite that awkward introduction, it really is quite enjoyable - a real page-turner.

On the iPad, thanks to the excellent reader app CloudReaders, I've been going through all available issues of The Boys, one of the most fucked-up superhero universes you will ever find. Power corrupts, and super-power corrupts superbly. And The Boys are there to keep the supers in check. Brutally. Along the way, the story takes time to investigate the origins of these super-powers, appalling levels of corporate corruption, the history and background of the members of the Boys, and it's all pretty hardcore. Not for the faint of heart.

I've also started on Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth, which I've heard described as Mad Max meets Bambi. That seems about right. With religious prophecy thrown in. And mutated animal-kids. It's really very good.

REAMDE
Rating: *****
Comment: Neal Stephenson remains one of the better current SF writers

The Boys:
Rating: *****
Comment: HOLY SHIT

Sweet Tooth:
Rating: *****
Comment: Mad Max meets Bambi. 'Nuff said.