Black Adam #2 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I'm still not sure what I think about the new Black Adam series, I don't really know what writer Christopher Priest is aiming to do with the book. There are some interesting moments in this issue, though they seem to get glossed over very quickly, and come the end of the second issue it kind of feels like whatever is going to happen is going to have little impact on the large landscape of DC, or Black Adam.

Part of this feeling comes from the fact that, spoiler alert, Black Adam dies by the end of this issue; yet it's been stated that this series takes place before the events of Dark Crisis, in which he is alive and well. So, his death isn't going to stick (which isn't too unusual in comics). However, he also seems to have the same personality he always has in Dark Crisis, which seems to indicate that Adam is not going to have any big moments of growth or personal change in this series; despite it seeming like it being something that Priest wants to address.

This all seems to point to the new character, Malik, being the main focus, and indeed him receiving Adam's powers this issue points towards that. However, the same problems as above come into play here, as Adam very much has his powers in Dark Crisis, and there is no sign of Malik. So is anything here actually going to mean anything.

There are some good moments here though, such as Malik rejecting the name White Adam as the 'good' version of Black Adam, and bringing up the cliche's of black = bad, white = good. It's a great call out, and one that needs to be done in many forms of fiction. But I'm still waiting to connect with Malik. I don't really know what kind of a person he is, though I did like him much better than in the first issue. 

With there still being ten issues left of the series I'm hoping that I grow to like things more, and that this is just a case of a shaky start. I love Black Adam, and really want this series to go well.

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Survival Street #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

What if puppets went bad is a question that we’ve seen in media a few times, with films like Puppet Master, or the episode of Angel ‘Smile Time’. It’s a fun joke, making the cute, fuzzy Muppet-like creations into actual monsters. But Survival Street asks a different question: what if puppets were the only good guys left?

The first issue of Survival Street begins with an important history lesson, telling readers how the future of the United States was forever changed when corporations were given the same freedoms as people. Soon, the rich and powerful were buying their way into positions of greater power, and the nation found itself in a corporate controlled land of greed and hatred, where only the cruellest can survive.

It’s in this dark future that a small group of puppets have been trying to stay true to their values, and have been making Salutation Street, a show for kids that teaches fair play (yes, it’s basically Sesame Street). However, the show is raided by armed ICE officials, and pulled off the air. So, what’s an out of work puppet who gets treated like a second class citizen going to do? They band together to take on the corrupt and powerful, even if it means blowing some shit up and killing some people along the way.

The first issue of Survival Street is a ridiculous and delightful introduction to this new story, where these out of work puppets have become a mercenary team who’ve made it their mission to make the world a better place. And they’re not afraid of crossing some lines to do it. This issue sees them infiltrating a swanky celebration where the rich are auctioning off children under the pretence that they’re being given up for adoption; but in reality they’re going to be harvesting their organs. The puppets are determined to save the kids, and go to some extreme lengths to do so.

The world that writers James Asmus and Jim Festante have created here is pretty dark, and kind of believable too (although perhaps not the living puppet part). It’s easy to see our own world sliding further into a capitalist hellscape run by the mega rich, and if it weren’t for the puppets this would be kind of a depressing read. However, because the big action heroes of the book are puppets it ends up being silly and ridiculous in just the right way. The book is a delight to read, and each new twist and turn in the story was delivered with such humour that I couldn’t help but be completely won over come the end.

The art on the book is provided by Abylay Kussainov and Ellie Wright, and it’s a wonderful amalgam of the realistic and the unbelievable. The humans and the environments look very down-to-earth, but the puppets give it a visual flair and level of fun that makes it jump off the page. The puppets all look wonderful, and their designs instantly make you think about the characters from Sesame Street The book wears its influence on its sleeve, and the art does this wonderful job of marrying together cute and fuzzy puppets and violence in a way that shouldn’t work, but just does.

This might not be the kind of title that grabs your attention straight away because the cover looks kind of weird, and the concept is very strange, but it’s executed in such a way that it becomes a hugely fun read. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing what these puppet revolutionaries plan for their next adventure.

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Artemis Wanted #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The Trial of the Amazons has come to a close, Nubia is travelling the world as the new Queen of the Amazons, and Diana is having her adventures as Wonder Woman. So there's only really one thread left to clear up from the huge Wonder Woman cross-over event; what happened to Artemis?

When we last saw her Artemis had murdered Queen Hippolyta by poisoning her, and was released from jail to help the Amazons fight Chaos; but she managed to sneak away in the confusion after the battle.

The Artemis Wanted one-shot picks up with the rogue warrior travelling through America, trying to find somewhere where she can hide and lay low, whilst Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark are on her tail. Artemis finds herself in a small town, where a mysterious girl asks her for help, knowing who she is. Whilst Artemis at first ignores it as not being her problem, she's shocked to learn that the townspeople change into monsters at night.

Investigating further, she learns that a former member of the Ban-Mighdall who left years before is living in the town, and that her daughter is the girl Artemis has been seeing. The only thing is, the girl is in a magical coma. Artemis agrees to help, but when Donna and Cassie catch up to her she gives herself over to them for judgement; but when a new god appears before the Amazons, the truth about what Artemis has done is finally revealed.

I have to be honest, I did not like the fact that Artemis was the one who murdered Hippolyta. It felt out of character, especially because of the method of the killing. This issue corrects a lot of that. It gives a reason that not only makes sense, but changes the way you're going to look at the events of the previous event book. So, spoiler time, Artemis killed Hippolyta because she was ordered to do so, by Hippolya. It seems like the former queen hatched a plan to get herself elevated to godhood so that she could give her people some hep from the heavens, but in order to do so she needed to have someone kill her, and the reasons had to be kept quite.

Artemis was quite literally doing what she was told by her queen, in an attempt to help her people. Now this fits with her character a whole lot more. The build up to the reveal is great, with Cassie begging Donna not to kill Artemis, whilst Artemis quietly accepted her fate. All three characters were displaying some of their best qualities, and this book actually ended up being a great showing for all of them. When Hipployta visited from Olympus she even she goes on to tell the three of them how they're exemplars of the Amazon people and their best qualities.

The rest of the issue includes some flashbacks to Artemis' background as a girl, which gives us an insight into why she's so dedicated to duty and honour. We also get some cool action as the trio stop the curse that's afflicting the town, and a lovely wrap-up as Artemis is forgiven by her queen and reinstated to her place amongst them.

Whilst this issue seems to have put this matter to bed the only thing that feels missing is Diana, and her reaction to this revelation. I'm hoping this is something we see at some point in the future, as I feel its an important piece that needs to be seen.

Overall, I really enjoyed this issue. It took one of the last hanging threads from the cross-over and neatly ties it off, centring characters whilst doing so. I've really been enjoying all of the Amazon focus recently, and find it more entertaining that Wonder Woman's solo adventures. Hopefully, we'll see more of these characters in the future.

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Plainer Jane #6 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Issue six of Plainer Jane marks the beginning of the end of the series, as this penultimate instalment starts to wrap up the story, and brings our protagonist into danger as the final pieces move into place. But when all is said and done, will our heroine manage to make it out alive, or will she herself meet a brutal and bloody end?

The previous two issues gave us a bigger view of the world that the titular Jane, a teen contract killer, lives in. We got to see the impact that her murders were having upon the world of organised crime, and discovered who was paying her to take out these gangsters and killers, and why. This continues on here, as we watch the bosses of the gangs come together to discuss what to do next as their fragile alliance begins to fall apart around them.

It’s interesting to see these aspects of the story, and it’s a bold choice for writer and series creator David Wilburn to take focus away from the protagonist for as long as they have. But by now it feels like the story has grown beyond a simple tale of a young woman looking to make a name for herself as an assassin. That kind of story couldn’t focus solely on one person and be entertaining for long. You have to see the ripples from her decision to perform these actions; and that’s what we get this issue.

We get to see the effect that her actions have on the criminals, but also check in again with the police. As readers of the series know, Tyler is more than just a simple police officer, and the series has become as much his story as Jane’s. The time spent with him here is important, and gives us an insight into how he’s dealing with things after the tragic events of the previous issue. Unfortunately, his story is intrinsically linked with Jane’s, and when the bad guys decide to get information from him it means that it’s going to put Jane in danger too.

And whilst by the end of the issue Jane finds herself in a situation that’s more dangerous than any she’s faced before she does get a chance to get out earlier in the issue. Her best friend comes to her, wanting to talk to her, wanting to know what’s been going on with her, and giving her the chance to talk about things. It’s kind of tragic that Jane has this opportunity here, right before the end of everything, and doesn’t take that shot. She could open up, probably be talked out of going on with what she’s doing, and avoid whatever awful things are coming next. But as we’ve seen over the course of the previous issues, Jane has kind of lost her way, has given up on most of her old life, and is now at a point where her fate is let in jeopardy.

The preview, or tease really, for the final issue asks ‘Who will live? Who will die?’ going into the final issue. In most comic series you’d feel pretty certain that the hero will beat the villains and walk away, either to carry on with their life, or retire and find peace. But honestly, I’m not sure that’s something that we’re going to get here. Plainer Jane hasn’t been afraid to buck trends, to do things its own way, and to tell its story the way they want to rather than the way a reader might expect. I honestly don’t know if Jane is going to survive the final issue, and can easily see the series ending with her own brutal demise, and it’s really exciting to have a story where you’re not confident in the ending, and know anything can happen.

The art for this issue is once again provided by Samir Simáo, who has been working on the book since taking over for Wayne Lowden after the first three issues. The art continues the established style for the book, with the black and white images with the occasional splash of colour. The start of the book, with the meeting between crime bosses, feels very dark and oppressive compared to the rest of the book, and sets the tone quite nicely, but some of the best work on the book comes in the final pages, set in the pouring rain. These panels feel full of energy and movement, and stands out from the rest of the book.

With just one issue left of the series the book is really ramping up the tension and building to what promises to be an explosive, and likely bloody, end. However it ends, whatever fate Jane finds for herself, I’m very much looking forward to seeing the conclusion.

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Baymax Episodes 1-6 - TV Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I liked Big Hero 6 when it first came out. It's an often overlooked comic book movie (as a lot of folks don;t know its based off a Marvel Comic), and it dealt with some tough issues like grief and death in a great way. And Baymax was a wonderfully sweet character.

The new series, Baymax, focuses on the soft, inflatable healthcare robot as he wanders around town getting into little adventures where he can help people out. The conceit of the show is basically Baymax actually doing what he was designed and built to do. And it's kind of refreshing and sweet.

Across the six episodes he helps out in Cass' coffee shop when she had a trip and sprains her ankle. Que some silly moments of Baymax making the slowest cups of coffee ever, spending minutes trying to get the lid on to-go orders, and generally being a sweetie. He also helps an older lady who has hip trouble, trying to help her get over her fear of water so that she can exercise in the pool. He finds a teen girl having her first period and searches out some menstrual products for her. He tries to help out a food van operator who has suddenly developed an allergy to the food he exclusively makes. And he finds a stray cat who has swallowed a wireless headphone.

However, these stories aren't about these issues. The focus isn't actually Baymax helping them with their issues. It's about what else they've got going on. It's Cass' inability to take a day off and let go of the stress and responsibility she puts on herself. It's about the old woman overcoming the grief of the loss of her husband. It's about the girl suddenly fearing the pressure of 'becoming a woman' now that she's started her period, and how people will treat her differently. It's about the man who feels obligated to follow in the footsteps of his family. It's about the stray cat learning that not everyone is out to hurt them, and that they can find happiness.

Baymax is filled with positive messages, of stories of this bug, squishy robot helping people not just with their physical health, but their mental health. He helps them with their problems, show them that they're not on their own. It's amazingly sweet at times, and it deals with some issues that often don't get addressed on TV, let alone in kids media. The period episode in particular is wonderful for this.

I learnt about this show because bigots and conservative weirdos went wild online because of the period episode, because it talked openly about menstruation, and because it acknowledged that trans guys exist, and use period products. They were heralding it as the end of civilisation, as moral degeneracy run riot. Instead, I found a rather sweet, decent little show with some positive messages that will help kids, and a lot of adults if they listen, become better, healthier people. 

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What Josiah Saw – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

What Josiah Saw, the latest film from director Vincent Grashaw, is not an easy film to describe, and this trouble to pin down exactly what the film wants to be, seems to have extended to the trailer, which sells the film as something very different.

What Josiah Saw, at first, seems to be billed as a Southern Gothic horror story. We begin by meeting Tommy Graham (Scott Haze), who lives in a remote old farm house with his stern, drunk, and overbearing father Josiah (Robert Patrick). Tommy has a developmental disorder of some kind, and is played as a man with a much younger mind. He seems very kind and caring, but it’s clear that his father looks down upon him because of his condition, reminding him that the other people in town think of him as ‘simple’, and other less savoury comments. We also learn in a brief scene where the local major is talking to some oil company executives that want to buy up various plots of land, that Josiah’s wife hung herself in the tree outside the home decades before, and that Tommy was the one who found her. The locals now believe that the farm is haunted by her spirit.

Despite Josiah denying the idea that his wife’s ghost has stuck around, he awakens one night in an apparent panic, and reveals to Tommy that he saw his wife, and that she has important work for them both in order to free her from the hell she’s in for taking her own life. This spurs Tommy into working to improve the farm.

The film then shifts to a second ‘episode’, where we meet Eli Graham (Nick Stahl), Josiah’s eldest son who ran away years before. Eli is in deep with local gangsters, and owes thousands of dollars. In order to avoid being killed, Eli agrees to help a couple of the boss’s henchmen to infiltrate a gypsy carnival to steal their supply of Nazi gold that was taken from the teeth of concentration camp victims. The movie follows Eli through this odd side story, before he decides to head back to the family home.

The third ‘episode’ introduces us to the final Graham family member, Eli’s twin sister Mary (Kelli Garner), who is trying to adopt a baby. Having been sterilised years before, she and her husband are having to fight to be seen as worthy of becoming parents. It’s clear that Mary is dealing with some severe trauma, and is haunted by things from her past. When Eli arrives on her doorstep and asks her to come back home with him to convince Tommy to sell his share of the farm to the oil company, Mary agrees to go with him, leading us into the explosive final part of the movie, where everything all comes together.

What Josiah Saw is an incredibly disjointed movie, and has multiple narratives spread out across the film that come together at the end. Whilst this approach can work, and has done well with certain movies, it feels poorly executed here. The biggest problem is the Eli section, which goes on much longer than the others, and has almost no bearing on the rest of the movie. In this part of the film we get hints that there’s something dark and evil awaiting Eli in the future, when he gets his fortune read by a slightly sinister old gypsy woman, but most of it is centred on the theft of the Nazi gold.

This part of the film just doesn’t really work. It’s like someone has taken a piece of a gangster movie and dropped it into the middle of this horror story hoping that it would work. The entire sub-plot about stolen Nazi gold bears no significance on the main plot at all, and none of the characters here other than Eli matter. We don’t need a half hour side story of his awful life in the middle of the film to justify his return home. It feels superfluous, self indulgent, and almost destroys the pace of the movie. It goes in such a completely different direction for so long I actually began to question if this was perhaps some kind of strange anthology film instead.

In reality, the second and third sections of the film are mostly surplus, and a handful of scenes lasting a few minutes would have been all that was needed to tell us about Eli and Mary, their lives away from the family farm, and their reasons for returning. As it is, by the time the film returns to the Graham home you’ve almost forgotten that it even started there. Luckily, there’s some decent acting to keep you interested, especially from Robert Patrick, though perhaps not enough to keep you hooked.

There is a sense of mystery to the film throughout, and that will probably be the main reason viewers stick with it. There are hints scattered through the other sections as to something more than we know going on; some kind of awful secret that looms over the Graham family. Waiting to get to that final segment to find out may annoy some viewers, however, and the strange, often dream-like hints that you get before then may leave some frustrated with the wait. Whether or not the execution of the reveal, and the results of it, will satisfy will be down to individual taste, but I did find the final segment of the film to be the strongest and most enjoyable because of it.

What Josiah Saw isn’t necessarily a bad film, but it’s not a great one either. The interesting visuals and strong acting are let down by a script that feels too bloated and too all-over-the-place. A few more drafts, and the removal of stuff that really wasn’t needed, would have helped the film a lot.

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Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Superman: Son of Kal-El deals with the fallout from the previous issue, with the world having discovered the true identity of The Truth. Now that the world knows who Jay is it's put everything that he's worked towards in jeopardy. People feel like they can't trust him anymore, that his position as the son of the former president of Gamorra means that he's biased, and that he's been fabricating the evidence against President Bendix.

In order to get away from the pressure, and the potential crowds of angry people, Jon takes Jay somewhere where he get be alone and safe. The Fortress of Solitude.

Jon has barely told Jay that it's impossible for anyone to get inside than they discover a guest waiting for them, Dreamer. This marks the first appearance of Dreamer in the main DC continuity, and it's a lovely introduction to the character. 

Jon kind of knows who she is, from stories that he's heard about her from her descendant in the Legion of Super Heroes. It's a bit of convenience, but it's kind of a welcome one as it means we don't have to do the cliched thing of them fighting before realising they're on the same side, or her having to convince him she's not a villain. Plus, him just talking to her is a much more Jon thing anyway.

It turns out that Dreamer has come to warn Superman of an impending attack by Bendix, and we get to see it in the form of a dream vision. This sequence is pretty dark, and features the murders of several beloved heroes. It's probably one of the darkest things that has been in this series so far, and the shock factor helps to hammer home how dangerous a foe Bendix really is.

Armed with this knowledge, Jon sets out to prevent the attack; but back on Gamorra, Bendix has decided to make an example of Jay's mother.

This is a really good issue, it furthers the main story, we get some great scenes between Jay and Jon, Dreamer is introduced to the main continuity, and we have the nightmare scenario in the middle too. It really feels like the Bendix story will be coming to a head soon, that Jon is going to find a way to take him out of the picture. But it' still not clear how he's going to be able to do that.

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The Color Purple by Alice Walker – Throwback 40

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

There are more books being written by diverse authors today than there have ever been, with bestsellers being written by marginalised authors from many backgrounds and experiences. But this has sadly not always been the case, and it may shock some to learn that the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction wasn’t won by a Black woman until 1983. The book that won that prize, and that has gone on to become one of the most influential and important books of the last forty years, is The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

The Color Purple is set in the early 1900s, in the Southern United States, and follows the life of Celie. When the book begins Celie is only fourteen, has been pulled out of school to work around the house, and is frequently beaten and raped by her father. Having birthed two children from her father already, Celie is eventually married off to an older man, only ever called Mister, so as to prevent her twelve-year-old sister Nettie from being married to him.

Moving into Mister’s home, Celie must care for him and his abusive children, and suffers frequent beatings, emotional abuse, and rape at Mister’s hands. Over the course of the book we watch as Celie grows from teen into a woman, and we see other figures enter her life, and the impact that they have upon it. These experiences often expose the brutality of being a Black woman in the Southern States at this time, and cover the abuses that those women went through, and how society at the time not only didn’t care, but encouraged it to happen.

The Color Purple is not an easy book to read by any means, and the content of the story is something that has plagued the book for many years. Whilst most people will recognise that the things that happen in the book are very important conversations, others have challenged the book ever since it was published, claiming that it should be banned because of the graphic nature of its content. According to the American Library Association, The Color Purple is on the list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books.

But this content is not only a major part of the book, but a major part of the life of the author, Alice Walker. Walker grew up in the rural South before the civil rights movement, in a time and place where racism was alive and well. The experiences in her early life would go on to help form her first published work, a collection of poems called Once. Her first two novels also covered similar themes, with The Third Life of Grange Copeland exploring the life of an abusive sharecropper, and Meridian being about activist workers during the Civil Rights movement.

Walker was always political, and it reflected in her work. She was a part of the Civil Rights movement, working for the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP), being a consultant of the Friends of the Children of Mississippi Head Start program, teaching Black Women’s Writing at the Universeity of Massachusetts Boston, and became the editor of the radical feminist Ms. Magazine to name but a few of her activities. And her passionate views and push for the liberation of Black women bled through into her work, particularly The Color Purple.

Upon the publication of The Color Purple critics praised Walker for bringing such a stark, and honest depiction of the lives of Black women to the forefront. The book, written by Celie in the form of letters to God, used the main character’s own voice to sell the honesty of the story. Celie was uneducated, and would misspell words, would write sentences with poor grammar, and would sometimes even struggle to explain herself clearly. But these moments helped to elevate the narrative, to give readers an insight into her life and her struggles.

The book was so well received that the book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, and the National Book Award for Fiction in the same year. The popularity also resulted in a film adaptation in 1985, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film, which some critics consider Spielberg’s first steps away from the ‘summer blockbuster’ into more prestige film-making, garnered huge success, making close to ten times its budget, as well as launching the careers of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Despite being nominated for 11 Oscars it failed to win any.

Despite the accolades for her work, and for The Color Purple being seen to be one of the most important books in the last forty years, Alice Walker herself has attracted some controversy in recent years, including accusations of antisemitic views. In 2012 the author talked about her love for the work of antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke on BBC Radio 4. She also supported Icke again in 2018 when she recommended one of his conspiracy theory books. Her 2017 poem, It Is Our (Frightful) Duty To  Study The Talmud has also been accused of being antisemitic. It would be a shame if these criticisms proved to be true, as Walker has performed some important, and admirable work over the decades, and The Color Purple is part of that.

Despite being challenged, and even outright hated, because of its brutally harsh content, The Color Purple has remained one of the most important books of the last forty years. It has been used in schools and colleges, has frequented book lists, and has become a book club staple that is sure to last for many, many more years.

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Future State: Gotham #15 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

What happens when five Batmen end up in Gotham, all with their own agendas, and none of them willing to work together or listen to the others? Fights. It ends in fights. 

The story of the multiple Batmen continues in the latest issue of Future State, and it's leading to violence and the fracturing of the Bat Family. Jason, having picked up an intruder alarm on one of the Batcaves scattered throughout the city, finds Talia and Bruce back in the city; however, having recently been manipulated by Hush for a while, Jason doesn't believe that this is Bruce, or that he's even alive. While Bruce tries to deescalate things Jason is ultimately stopped when Talia impales him on her sword. Bruce makes the reckless decision to leave the wounded Jason in order to continue tracking down Damian (which I'm sure will help convince Jason that he's the real Batman).

Speaking of Damian, he's being further manipulated by Hush, posing as Bruce, who tells him about three impostor Batmen he fought years ago before Damian entered his life, and how they're back in Gotham. He tells Damian that they, and the city, need destroying in order to save the day. I like the nod to the Morrison run and the three Batmen there, and how it's being used here to justify turning Damian against the others. I also enjoyed the peeks we get into Damian's time in hell; it's also easy to see how Hush is manipulating when you start to realise the things he's been through over the years.

Meanwhile, Dick is confronted by the rest of the Bat Family, who refuse to allow him to continue on as Batman, shutting them out, and using the Brain drug. However, Dick seems to have seen this outcome thanks to the precognitive drug, and has prepared to fight his friends and family. I'd put good money on Dick being able to fight off several members of the team on a normal day, but with him on the drug it seems that the fight is not going to go well for the others.

The issue ends with the final Batman, Jace, being attacked by Damian and Hush. The final page shows Jace with a hellfire Batarang stuck in his chest, whilst Damian makes ready to deliver a killing blow. 

Future State: Gotham is a series that has a lot of room to do its own thing, so I kind of wouldn't be surprised if it did decide to just kill people off, and that Damian could kill Jace next issue. However, Bruce jumping in to save Jace and confront his son, leading to a 'which is the real dad?' stand-off is kind of where I see things going.

I'm not sure how this particular story arc is going to wrap-up, and I can see this book bucking the expected trend and doing something completely unexpected and wild. Could we lose a Batman or two for good? Possibly. Whatever happens, it's probably going to be a bit weird.

The back-up story for this issue focuses on Cassandra in the Future State, Magistrate controlled Gotham. The story is in full colour, and looks really nice. Cass gets chased by Magistrate across the city, and we get to see how cool she is as she dodges bullets, beats up soldiers, and dash from rooftop to rooftop. It's a fun little story that just shines a spotlight on a character that's always a lot of fun to spend time with.

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Sisters of Sorcery: A Marvel Untold Novel by Marsheila Rockwell - Blog Tour

 

'Enter the Dark Dimension to defeat a supernatural tyrant with four extraordinary sorceresses in this exhilarating mystical adventure from Marvel Untold

'Deep in the Dark Dimension, the tyrant Umar the Unrelenting craves the Power Cosmic to expand her realm into new dimensions. When she kidnaps the cosmic being Ardina to make a grim battery of her powers, she draws the attention of Clea, her estranged daughter and mighty user of the mystic arts. Clea knows her mother will stop at nothing to conquer the whole of the Splinter Realms, imperilling all of reality. To defeat her, Clea must ally herself with three powerful sorceresses, each with their own unique powers, traverse dimensions, and free Ardina and the entire Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption before Umar consumes it all.'

I don't know a huge amount about the mystical side of the Marvel Universe, though I am familiar with a few characters even if just by reputation. Clea, the lead character of Sisters of Sorcery is one of these characters, and as such I was looking forward to seeing a bit of what she's about; along with meeting some other magic wielding folks. Sisters of Sorcery felt like a perfect jumping in point for both long time fans of these characters, as well as people looking for a fun introduction to them.

The novel begins with a slight flashback to something fans of the comic might be familiar with, the creation of Ardina as it appeared in the 2002 mini-series The Order. As someone who'd never heard of the character before this was a decent little introduction to the book, as it gave me some understanding about the character that would end up being at the centre of this entire story; along with why Clea feels an obligation to try and save her, other than just simple friendship.

After this we jump forward in time a little, and we get to see Ardina and Hellcat hanging out on a remote beach, simply taking it easy and resting up after their last super hero adventure. However, the peace is shattered when a portal to another world opens up, and a host of demons storm the beach. The creatures manage to take Ardina captive, and retreat back through the portal. Luckily, there was a clue as to where the creatures came from; they were being lead by a Mindless One, one of the soldiers from the Dark Dimension.

Knowing that Ardina has been taken to the Dark Dimension, the injured Hellcat reaches out to Clea, the Sorceress Supreme of that world, for help. Clea reveals that the dark dimension is no longer ruled by her uncle, Dormamu, but by her equally as evil mother, Umar. Knowing that Umar would only take Ardina for some awful purpose, and feeling indebted to the woman because she played a hand in her creation, Clea sets out to enter the Dark Dimension and save her. However, she knows that she can't do this alone, and begins to recruit a team of other magical women to help her.

In some ways Sisters of Sorcery feels a bit like a heist story. There's the thing that's being kept in a secure location that the main character wants, in this case it being Ardina, and in order to get it she needs to create a team of experts that can infiltrate, get past the defences, and get out again. And the book does kind of follow this sort of formula for the first section, as we get to follow Clea around as she assembles her team.

The team is an interesting group, and brings in some pretty obscure characters that longtime fans will get a kick out of. There's the ghost of the witch Agatha Harkness, who was recently killed by Wanda Maximoff (placing this story not too long after Avengers Disassembled), Holly LaDonna, who made a handful of appearances in Vision and the Scarlet Witch in the 1980's, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen, the hero known as Talisman from the Alpha Flight series, and Margali Szardos, the green skinned sorceress best known for being Nightcrawler's adoptive mother.

As I said earlier, I'm not hugely knowledgeable about most of these characters, and other than Agatha Harkness every member of the team was new to me. These are characters that have some pretty deep and well established backstories, and jumping into a story like this could easily lead to you being left behind and confused; however, that never happened, and Marsheila Rockwell managed to make it so that you never felt like you were missing out if you don't have a huge amount of comic book knowledge.

The book is written in such a way that it feels dense at first glance, where it draws upon a lot of comic history and characters that have long, complex backstories; but it's also incredibly accessible to new readers. We get told the important parts of these characters histories, we very quickly come to understand what makes them tick and why they do the things that they do. Rockwell makes it easy to keep up with everything; and that's a hell of a thing for a story with as much history and lore as this.

Rockwell isn't just good at making a story that feels like a part of a bigger world though, as she also makes this about the characters and their relationships with each other. At the start of the book most of these characters don't know each other, or have stronger relationships with one, but nothing to do with the others. They come into this as a reluctant rescue team, but thanks to the trials that they face along the way and the things they go through you get to watch a very real friendship begin to form. And as the title suggests, a sisterhood grows before the end of the book.

Sisters of Sorcery gives readers some interesting insight into the Dark Dimension and how everything there all works, things that I wasn't completely aware of when I started this. I knew that Dormamu lived there and ruled the place, and that his minions were the mindless ones, but that was about all. But after reading this book I feel like I've come to understand a bit more about it, the weird geography, the politics, and the people that call it home.

I had a lot of fun with Sisters of Sorcery, it was an enjoyable adventure story with heist elements, tons of magic, and some great character bonding and growth. I came to this book knowing very little about this side of the Marvel Universe, but by the end I felt like I'd learnt a lot; and that I'd come away with some new favourite characters. Whether you're a longtime fan or someone with little experience Sisters of Sorcery is a fun, enjoyable book.

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