Sunday, June 21, 2009

Summer reads

Summertime and the heat is rising. If you're looking for reading material to carry to the beach, lake or community pool -- something a little more complex than The New York Times and a lot more complex than The Nation, we recommend the following.

Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman #32, on sale now. Gail Simone, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan have Princess Diana in a face off with Genocide, a creature who is actually the negative Princess Diana. Battling with herself leads to battles within herself:

I can feel it. The loss of control. Touching something primal and ancient. Something levels beneath the training in diplomacy, in manners, and all trappings of civilzation. We're leaving that behind. Somewhere on that plane, we are connected. And while it may be true that I live as an American . . . and I work as a Washingtonian . . . I will always dream -- as a themysciran. And this is my nightmare.


And while Diana battles in DC and above it, Zeus is about to be stabbed in the back and Ares is preparing to reign.


No Hero

Also on sale now is the fourth issue of Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp's No Hero which finds Ben Chisholm, aka Red Glare, attempting to convince Josh things will be fine. But something's gone wrong in the process of turning Josh into a superhero: "Supposed to be superhuman. Not this. Castrated."

Ben attempts to convince him that everything, including his skin, will grow back. But by the time they're being shot at, it appears Josh is missing much more than his crotch region and his brain.

Soulfire: New World Order has just kicked off with J.T. Krull, Francisco Herrera, Leonardo Olea and Josh Reed joining forces to handle the debut issue about life in 2212 when magic is afoot.

As a species, people might think we have come so far over the centuries, from crawling on the ground and living in caves to conquering the mysteries of space and time itself. Man has dissected every facet of this world -- physically, psychologically, atomically -- in the hopes of unlocking some elusive secret that lies at the very core of our being. But what most fail to understand is that this quest has only taken us further and further away from the answer buried within our souls. If only the world could step back and clear their minds, they would see that the truth is actually quite simple. It's magic.

And this is the story of Cruz and his sister. And the Blackwater Inc like mercenaries of Dragon Riders. And Gabriel's Voice. And magic.

All Girl Comics

The other current debut is All Girl Comics which finds Kris Simon, Kat Cahill and Seth Damoose teaming up to create a new team of super heroes: Dee Rail, Blacklight, Rebound, Tempest, Editor Girl, Fetish and Bomb Queen. Issue one belongs to Bomb Queen who starts off the issue dropping a bomb on her male lover who can't get it up due to a condition which hit Chicago first: The Flaccid Flu. As she investigates, Bomb Queen becomes more enraged, "How dare some needle-dick punk use my city as a base to castrate the entire male populace!" The issue ends with her having Frankie, the teenager who developed The Flacid Flu, on all fours, face down on her bed as she grabs a paddle and tells him, "But for now . . . You're all mine."


Infinite Horizon

Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto offer up the fourth issue of Infinite Horizon which is a retelling of Homer's Odyssey taking place in the near future. The Captain, his leg wrongly set, is addicted to medication and has little desire to hang on, let alone return home.

Home slipped further away. . . It was a year before I even went to town. I was convinced that my family was better off without a cripple. Fortunato waited for me to break out of it. He was patient, but everyone's got a breaking point.

And upcoming?

Tuesday MASTER OF WAR: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War by Suzanne Simons is published. You can read an excerpt from the hardcover book here. The book is based upon Simons' interviews with Prince and various Blackwater employees, research Simons did in Afghanistan and the Middle East, government contacts, employees' families and much more.



Batwoman

Wednesday Detective Comics launches their Batwoman series this week. This is a retooling of the golden age Batwoman and she's gay. And in the closet. About being a super hero, about being gay.