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Year End Book Report: The Best Books I Read in 2015

Posted in Batman, books, comic books, movies, pop culture, Star Wars with tags Book Report, books, reviews, Star Wars, Year End Books on January 11, 2016 by Paxton

And here we are again, my year end wrap up articles.

Queue Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”.

I say it every year, how did we get here already? The year just flies by. Anyway, the particulars: If you’ve read this year end round up before, you know I keep my book logs online in a Google Spreadsheet. I’ve been doing it since around 2009. Only “new to me” reads in 2015 are eligible, no re-reads.

This past year was an interesting year for my book/comics list. I really had an off year for books. It was really hard to get a good list of 5 books that I really enjoyed. This year as I combed through my list of books I realized I had been in a slump of “didn’t like” and “meh” books that I just didn’t feel comfortable forcing into this year’s “best” list.

Conversely, this was a phenomenal year for comics. I had SO MANY comics I read that I just LOVED that it became very hard for me to pare it down to only five. So, I think this year I’m going to cut the book list to maybe three and increase the comic list to 8. This would be a better representation of the good stuff I’ve read this year.

Looking at the log I see I read around 106 books and comics over the course of the year. That total includes books/comics I’ve read for the first time as well as any re-reads I did this year which I’ll do from time to time. Also, I see, after two years of reading 4 books released in the current year, I uptick to 5 books I read this year that were current releases. Wow. And none of them are going to make this list. One of them almost did, but, in the end, I decided no.

Here’s the list!

Books

Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1987) by H. F. Saint – I read and reviewed this book for AWESOME-tober-fest this year. See my full review there. But this hands down makes my best of year list and looking at my book log, it’s probably the best book I read all year.

Troll Mountain (2014) by Matthew Reilly – Matthew Reilly is no stranger to my “best of” books list. His Scarecrow and James West Jr novels have both made it on here. I read this fantasy novel back in February for the second installment of High Fantasy Month. It was a serial novel in three parts, each part about 55 pages long. And it’s junior fantasy, aimed at a younger audience. But like I said in my review, I really enjoyed it. The story reminded me of L Frank Baum. Lots of fun and adventure, full of hope, believing in yourself and believing that good will triumph over evil. Definitely worth a read.

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Book 1) (2006) – Brandon Sanderson – I really had trouble picking this final spot. A few things could’ve gone here. Rick Riordan’s tenth Percy Jackson book, The Force Awakens novelization, Stephen King’s Needful Things or Brad Meltzer’s The Inner Circle. And I liked all of these choices but I didn’t love them. So, I flipped a coin and the first book in Sanderson’s fantasy series gets the nod. It’s a great piece of fantasy world building with a cleverly different system of magic. Like Troll Mountain, I reviewed it for the second High Fantasy Month back in February. I just felt that this book runs a little long. But I liked it and I plan on reading the second book, even if I’m hearing that the second book is even longer. And unnecessarily so.

Now, let’s move on to the comics I read this year that I LOVED. And there are lots of them.

Comic Books/Graphic Novels

Aquaman (The New 52) by Geoff Johns and Jeff Parker – I’m including all six of the currently released collections of this title. This first entry was probably the most relevatory comic I read all year. I’ve never been an Aquaman fan, even with the Peter David series and the hook hand/long hair iterations. I just didn’t like the character. However, I heard such good things about this take on Aquaman that I decided to read the first trade. The next thing I know, I’ve read all six of the trade paperback collections encompassing the first 40 issues or so plus annuals. Geoff Johns writes the first four collections and Jeff Parker takes over for the next two. And they are AWESOME. All of a sudden, I’m an Aquaman fan. I even dove into and read the entire side series, Aquaman and the Others, which is not as good, but still enjoyable to read. I can’t recommend this title enough. I think Cullen Bunn has taken over the writing from Jeff Parker as of issue 40 or so. I look forward to more adventures with the King of Atlantis.

Avengers vs. X-Men (2012) – This is the 12 issue maxi-series Marvel event from 2012. It launched the Marvel NOW! line of comics. It’s written by a murder’s row of my favorite comic writers; Matt Fraction, Brian Michael Bendis, Johnathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker and Jason Aaron with lots of awesome art by John Romita Jr and Adam Kubert. The story is epic, it’s awesome, it’s everything you want in an Avengers vs X-men title. I loved it. And the conclusion of this entry leads directly into…

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Cavalcade Comics #11 – The Frankenstein Monster vs The Winter Olympics

Posted in comic books, Frankenstein, monsters, nostalgia, pop culture with tags Cavalcade Comics, comic books, comic covers, Frankenstein, monsters, Photoshop, Vintage Comic Throwdowns on December 16, 2015 by Paxton

I’m temporarily sticking my head out from where I’m hibernating during the winter to post up this newest cover in my Vintage Comic Throwdown series.

This month’s cover isn’t necessarily holiday themed, as I don’t really have a “Christmas” themed cover in my back log. But I do have a “winter-y” themed cover I can use. Peep your ‘balls on The Frankenstein Monster vs The Winter Olympics.

I’m sort of in love with the concept as well as the execution of this cover. It was birthed almost entirely out of one awesome Marvel Treasury front cover as well as the back cover pin-up. Check out that cover’s double sided awesomeness right here (click to see BIGGER).

This is Marvel Treasury Edition #25 from June 1980. The front cover was drawn by Al Milgrom and Jack Abel. The back cover “pin-up” was drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz and Bruce Patterson. So much action-y goodness that I couldn’t pass up using the majority of the elements in this layout. You can see all of them in the cover. The skiers, the snow, the broken light pole, the building in the background with the crowd. All re-purposed for my Frankenstein gone amok cover.

An element that I didn’t use from the Marvel cover is the Frankenstein monster himself, which comes from Marvel’s The Frankenstein Monster #7 from Nov 1973. Drawn by the great John Buscema.

Frankenstein Monster 07

I love doing these monster mashups. I have another Frankenstein monster mashup stashed away as well as a return for Ghost Rider! But is it the old gunslinger Ghost Rider or the Hell Cycle ridin’ demon? You’ll have to wait to find out.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2015: Destroyer (1988) movie review

Posted in Genres, Halloween, holiday, horror, movies, pop culture with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2015, Fangoria, Fangoria Movie Friday, Halloween, holiday, horror, magazines, monsters, movies, pop culture, reviews, zombies on October 30, 2015 by Paxton

This is it! The final day of the final week of AWESOME-tober-fest 2015. It’s been a blast. I really hope you guys have had as much fun as I’ve had. I’m sad to see the Halloween season come to a close. But, all good things, am I right? Anyway, without further ado, here is today’s final AWESOME-tober-fest article and it’s the last of this week’s look back at all of my previous years’ AWESOME-tober-fest subjects.

Last year, my theme was Bloody Best of Fangoria. I went through the vast history of the magazine, showed you articles and pictures and each Friday I reviewed a B-horror movie that appeared in the pages of the magazine. Those reviews were called Fangoria Movie Fridays. The last FMF was the awesome Cheerleader Camp starring Lucinda Dickey. But it was almost a different movie. As a matter of fact, it was so almost a different movie that I had watched and mostly drafted a completely different movie review but I changed my mind at the last second. I think it’s time to bring that movie back and give it its due. That movie was the flick Destroyer from 1988. It starred Lyle Alzado, Debra Foreman and Anthony Perkins.

Here’s the ad they used to promote the VHS release. I remember seeing it in an issue of Fangoria.

Lyle looks like he’s holding his head weird. Or is his head just Photoshopped into the poster? I can’t tell.

Here’s the actual poster for the movie.

Destroyer_FilmPoster

Yeah, this is actually a bit more bonkers and awesome. Did you notice that they added a LASER SCOPE to the jackhammer? Why the f**k does he need a laser scope on the jackhammer?! Crazy. And weird. And awesome.

Anyway, this movie poster obviously spoke to me. Lyle Alzado as a “half dead” serial killer? Anthony Perkins as a horror movie director? Yes, please.

So, first, is this movie any good. Ehhh, it’s okay. It’s not bad for a late 80s slasher flick with a ton of cult pop culture familiar faces in it. What’s it about, well, Alzado plays a serial killer who is on Death Row. He is about to be executed when a power surge while he’s in the electric chair makes him “half dead”. Essentially it makes him a savage, nearly indestructible killing machine. The jail is abandoned and Lyle is left to roam the empty jail. Flash forward two years or so and a horror film crew arrives to film their movie in the infamous jail. They, of course, stir up Lyle who starts killing off members of the crew. How do you stop an unkillable monster? I. Don’t. Know.

That’s the basic premise. Did I mention this movie had familiar faces? Yep, let’s quickly look at the cast. You’ve already seen sweaty Lyle Alzado up there on the poster as the “lead”. Lyle is known mainly for football but he also appeared in this movie, Ernest Goes to Camp, Zapped…Again! (yes, the sequel to Zapped!) and the sadly short lived wrestling sitcom Learning the Ropes.

The next most notable face would be the aforementioned Anthony Perkins, best known as Norman Bates in the Psycho movies. Anthony is playing the director of the horror movie-within-the-movie, Death House Dolls. Honestly, Perkins is pretty much the best thing in the movie. He’s very entertaining and I loved every scene he’s in.

destroyer05

Here’s a familiar face, Clayton Rohner.

destroyer01

I did not expect him to pop up in this movie. This guy is an 80s staple with lead rolls in Just One of the Guys, I, Madman and another little horror film I love called April Fool’s Day. If you haven’t seen April Fool’s Day, watch it. It’s pretty great. But also starring in April Fool’s Day was an actress named Deborah Foreman. And in a nice little reunion, Deborah is in this movie as well.

destroyer04

Deborah is adorable. You’ve seen her in a ton of 80s flicks like Valley Girl, Real Genius, Hot Pursuit and My Chauffeur. Unfortunately she goes with “Hilary Clinton” hair in this movie which is rather…unfortunate.

I do like both of these guys, so it’s nice to have them here. Clayton comes off a little better because he’s written to be a funny, irreverant writer so he has some funny lines.

So, how’s Lyle? He’s okay. I mentioned his character is described as “half dead”, which I assume means he has “crazy eyes”. Because that’s what he does at every opportunity. Gives us his “crazy eyes”.

destroyer02 destroyer03

He does seem to have a lot of fun with that jackhammer, though.

destroyer06 destroyer07

Easy, Lyle, you can go blind handling that jackhammer so much. Take a break, buddy.

If you like cheesy 80s “horror” with a dash of comedy, I think you’ll like this.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2015: Scarlet in Gaslight (1987)

Posted in comic books, Dracula, Genres, horror, monsters, nostalgia, pop culture with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2015, Cavalcade Comics, comic books, Dracula, Halloween, holiday, Sherlock Holmes on October 29, 2015 by Paxton

This week, instead of the Invisible Man, I am revisting some of my earlier AWESOME-tober-fest themes. Today I’m looking back at Dracula, whom I covered back in 2011.

The comic Scarlet in Gaslight was released by Eternity Comics in 1987-1988.

Sherlock Holmes SIG01

This comic is a Sherlock Holmes mystery where the detective meets the Prince of Darkness, Dracula. It was written by Martin Powell and drawn by Seppo Makinen. If they sound familiar these are the guys who did the Sherlock Holmes vs Invisible Man comic I talked about earlier, A Case of Blind Fear. They actually did this Dracula comic a few years before they did the invisible man mystery.

Sherlock Holmes SIG03

In style and execution this comic is very similar to A Case of Blind Fear. Only, sadly, it isn’t quite as successful. The story tries to incorporate Sherlock Holmes into the events of the Bram Stoker novel which, like in A Case of Blind Fear, would cause changes to the novel’s events as well as the outcome. In the comic you see Lucy suffering in her room where Dracula has been visiting her. You see Van Helsing trying to help her by covering the room in garlic. We also see Dracula has the look from Stoker’s novel with the mustache, but it just isn’t working as well for me as it would a few years later with A Case of Blind Fear.

Lucy gets a bigger part and you see Sherlock having lots of issues with all of the supernatural things going on. He even has sort of a breakdown in the middle of the comic because his precise mind can’t process what it sees. This stuff is interesting but also, in the full run of the comic I was mostly bored reading. I just couldn’t connect to this comic the same way I connected with the later invisible man story. A lot of that may be my issues I have with the Bram Stoker novel itself, but I can’t be sure. Taken at face value, some of this comic is pretty cool, it just has trouble keeping that coolness flowing throughout the four issue story.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

AWESOME-tober-fest 2015: Hammer’s Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

Posted in Genres, horror, monsters, movies, nostalgia, pop culture, werewolf with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2015, Halloween, Hammer Studios, holiday, monsters, movies, reviews, werewolf, werewolves on October 28, 2015 by Paxton

Today I’m journeying back to the heady days of October 2010 when I covered werewolves for Halloween. My intention that year was to actually watch and review Hammer’s 1961 werewolf film, Curse of the Werewolf. It was supposed to go right there during that last week after I covered Universal’s Wolf Man movies. However, plans got away from me and I was not able to cover it that year.

Now, I have that chance back. Plus, I haven’t had a Hammer movie review on AWESOME-tober-fest since 2013’s review of The Plague of the Zombies. So, let’s do this.

Hammer’s Curse of the Werewolf starred Oliver Reed and Catherine Feller. It was the only werewolf movie Hammer ever made. It’s very gothic and tragic, lots of sexual subtext and, kind of all over the place.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

Hammer Films card COTW card
Title cards for this movie. Not quite as cool as the Horror of Dracula cards.

Marques and wife
This is the Marques Siniestro and his new bride. In this opening scene the movie goes out of its way to show you how mean and cruel this Marques can be. Even his wife is looking at him like, “You’re such an asshole.”

Chef 01 Chef 02
The chef brings out some roasted goose for the newlyweds. The Marquesa says she doesn’t like goose, so the Marques actually gets up out of his chair, yells at the chef for not knowing the Marquesa doesn’t like goose and throws the entire tray of goose on the floor. Then while the chef cleans up the mess the Marques pushes the chef down into the mess.
ASS. HOLE.

Beggar 01 Beggar 02
After the chef debacle, a lowly beggar comes to the Marques’ table to beg for food and drink. The Marques offers him a handful of gold to be the Marquesa’s pet. Then, he completely humiliates the beggar by making him dance in front of everyone for some food and wine. Then the beggar is sent to the dungeons anyway.

Here’s the Marques leering at his wife before sending the beggar to the dungeons. He just informed her it’s time for them to “retire”. Ugh, shivers went up my spine the way he said it. She’s clearly re-thinking her life choices at this point.

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